Romantic GetAway
by TheShadowHunterXIII
Summary: Months after Cocoon's Fall, an old enemy of Patrick's has recently been discovered and he's hiding out in Paris. Now he goes on a mission to stop the criminal. Meanwhile, SnowEmbrace of DeviantART OC characters, Chantal and Sky, are both spending time together in the city of love. A two sided story of romantic and action.
1. Welcome to Paris

**A/N: Even though Chantal and Sky didn't answer my question for SnowEmbraces "Ask my OC's", I got the idea of writing a story for that question. Those of you who are unaware, the question I ask the two is...a bit eventual. But long story short is my character Patrick is on a business trip in Paris and Chantal and Sky are coming along for a Romantic Getaway...But that's not the reason that's the title.**

 **Romantic is Chantal and Sky's time together and the Getaway is me hunting down a wanted criminal...who's trying to get away. Huh? Am I right?**

 ***Crickets chriping***

 **...Yeesh. Tough crowd. Let's just get to the story...**

* * *

The airship flies over seas. All of us are riding in it. Sky. Chantal. Hope and I.

Chantal is an old pen pal of mine, and Sky is some boy she is crushing on. I feel almost sick to my stomach meeting the guy. He's not bad, it's just that he reminds me so much of that moron Snow Villiers. In fact, Chantal flustered when she was first around Snow back when she was visiting Grand Pulse on Christmas. Of course that was the least of her worries, since Hope was crushing on her as well.

But that's a story for another time.

Two months ago, I have learned an old enemy of mine is still alive, and he's hiding out in Paris. I fear he could be rebuilding his criminal Organization: The Abduction Agency.

The Abduction Agency is a group of sexist perverts who kidnap women and train them as sex slaves. I brought down the organization long ago when they hired me as a Mercenary, but that was a grave mistake they made. Hiring me as one of their own, I sabotaged their plans until the entire building rotted and collapsed.

Before the explosion, I had a final showdown with Rufus Zero, the men who lead the organization. It nearly cost me my life, from both his strength and power and the explosion, but I won and made it out barely alive, and back then I was just an 18 year old human boy with nothing but a bow for a weapon, and a blood steined dagger I only used to cut myself. But that's a story for another time I'd rather not talk about.

I thought he was dead all this years, now I've learned he's still alive.

For Chantal and Sky...well, Chantal's been having trouble expressing her feelings to Sky. The worst one was when she gave him...or Katryx I should really say, a letter that says her true feelings for the guy she's crushing on. Katryx ended up receiving it and she thought it was for her. I just hope that pretty little blonde head doesn't get any funny ideas. I've alway endured enough from everything I saw from that dark organization.

Anyways, I promised Chantal I'd so something, so I talked to Sky, with Vanille doing some blabbering as well. And he agreed to go out with her. Since I'm going to Paris, the city of love. I figured it's a good opportunity for the two of them.

I'm killing two birds with one arrow. I get to do my mission and they get their romantic getaway. It's a double win. A win-win.

Hope is watching Chantal and Sky sitting close together, by the window seat of the airship. He's a bit miserable. The poor boy is crushing on Chantal and he has no shot at her, even after he saved her from being crushed on a Cie'th mission back in Grand Pulse on Christmas Eve.

The two of them are having an enjoyable time with each other, and when Sky wraps an arm around her, Chantal gets flustered, blushes even. That's when Hope has seen enough and proceed to the back room.

In the back room, I'm sitting on a crate, doing some adjustments to the BH Type 21, a Bow fashioned as a Sniper Rifle. Of course it's more of a Crossbow then a regular bow. "Come on! Work!" I say through the frustrated groaning.

That's when Hope comes in. He sits on the crate in front of me and sighs depressingly. "What's eating you, kid?"

"I think you already know." Hope says.

After a hard tight on the bolt, I set my sniper weapon on my lap and look at him. "Let me guess: Chantal?" Hope nods. "Listen, you are a nice kid and all, and Chantal loves you for that...But she's just not THAT into you. She already has Sky."

"I know. You and Chantal keep saying that, even thought she promised me a date before she left on Christmas...and didn't you say Sky already has another girlfriend?" Hope says.

"Yes, yes. Katryx. But she is not here. This is suppose to be Chantals time with Sky." I say.

"But wouldn't they just get in the way with the mission...I just don't see why I have to come along with it." Hope says.

"Cause you're the only one I can bring. Sazh wouldn't come along. Fang would just mess around, mostly in teasing." Hope can understand that feeling since Fang likes to make funny of him as well. "Vanille wouldn't come cause Fang won't allow it. I can't risk putting Serah in danger since we're dealing with criminals that target women, and I think you already know the reason for Villiers."

"Well...what about Lightning? Or Noel and Yeul?" Hope asks.

"Lightning's been banned from Paris. Remember? Recon mission, six months ago?" How can Hope and I forget:

[Flashback]

Lightning is struggling in rage in my arms are I drag her and run. The soldier girl is screaming at the top of her lungs. While we were in Paris, many men keep trying to woo Lightning, no matter how many times she told them to leave her alone, go away, or threatened them.

"I TOLD YOU! I'M NOT INTERESTED! SHUT UP OR I SWEAR I'LL SHOVE MY GUNBLADE RIGHT UP YOUR-"

"Okay! Okay! Lightning! You made a point!" I shout in all the loud yelling.

[Flashback ends]

Just thinking about everything Lightning did to all those men terrifies us, and that's saying something from me since there's only one thing in the whole world that scares me, and it's related to my painful past with my fathers death.

"As for the others, Yeul is still recovering from being asleep in crystal all these years, and Noel can't leave her side since he's her new guardian." I say.

Hope looks down and sighs. "Guess that just leaves me, doesn't it?"

"Don't worry about it, we'll be in and out in no time." I say.

"Well...are you sure we should bring Chantal? I mean...if we're targeting this Abduction Agency, and if they're as bad as you say, wouldn't she be targeted?" Hope slightly looks away, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. "S-she is...uh...very...beautiful and...I'm just worried that she'll-"

"Hey, I'm as worried as you are, but I've got this under control. Trust me: Chantal is the very last girl they would dare kidnap and train. Just focus on the mission at hand." I return my attention back to my weapon. "If only I can get this stupid thing working!"

I bang it a few times, and it automatically fires a metal arrow right through the window. Hope and I are both shocked then we quickly look out the window.

The metal arrow flies towards the Russian helicopter and hits directly at the main rotor. The entire upper helicopter shatters and explodes, and the helicopter starts falling. Both of the Russian pilots are panicking, shouting in Russian, as the alarm blares.

Once they are thirty feet above the water, they hug each other in fear and scream loudly, until plummeting into the deep blue sea silences them.

Hope and I are both shocked to see all that. "Oops." I say. "If anyone asks: We saw nothing."

"I didn't even see anything." Hope says, meaning he agrees.

* * *

By sunset, the airship lands at the airport. We have finally arrived in Paris. The hanger door opens and we all walk right out. Chantal is pretty amazed at the very sight of the city. Sky is amused as well, only not as much as Chantal is.

"Welcome to Paris." I say. "Or as the French say: 'Les poulets sont brillants chaussures'."

Hope isn't impressed. "Patrick, nobody is Paris says 'The Chickens are shining the shoes'."

"Sorry if I only took Spanish back in Middle School." I say defensively. I take out my phone, scrolling through the pages. "Stupid language app. Waste of 100 Gil."

"Hope, I didn't know you took French." Chantal says, surprised.

"Y-yeah. I use to take French class before the whole l'Cie incident...It was either that or Gym." Hope says.

I slowly shook my head, reminding all that time when I've known Hope as a weakling during our l'Cie travels. "That explains so much." I put my phone away and take the lead. "Anyways, we should be heading to the hotel. This way."

After we grab our bags, we made our way to the hotel we're staying in. The second we left the airport, a suspicious man who was handling the luggage is eyeballing us, then makes his leave. He's on to something.

Chantal admires the scenery as we wonder. "This is completey incredible. I've never been to another country."

"Wondrous, is it not?" I ask. "Big festivals. Lovely boat rides. Beautiful flowers. Bright lights in the night. Fresh scent of baguettes. Smoothing chines of the holy bells of Notre Dame." The bells of Notre Dame ring at a far distance as I finish the sentence. Sky feels a bit unease at the 'Holy Bells' part since he's half demon.

"That's unexpected coming from you." Hope says.

"Don't me rude, kid. I maybe cold-blooded, but I can still admire a few things." I say.

"It's not that, just that I didn't except you to be so relaxed." Hope says.

"Yeah, well, here I'm not dealing with that moron Villiers or Fang's button pushing sassiness." I say.

"Fair point, and I can relate to that." Hope whispers the second part to himself.

Chantal just can't wait to get started on her little date with Sky, even the very thought of it makes her fluster. Even so, nothing can ruin her one chance to be with Sky. No Katryx or Spud to meddle in or Violet to interfere and make her feelings suffer. Just her and prince charming standing right next to her, alone in the city of love.

We all arrive at Le Grand Hôtel. "Here we are." The hotel is a five story building. Chantal and Sky are a bit surprised to see the hotel.

"Wow...that sure is going all out." Sky says.

"Yeah, well, when you're in the Guardian Corps, and you saved an entire planet from its own destruction...it goes a long way." Hope says.

"Don't brag about it. It's bound to have limits. Never let arrogance cloud your mind." I say, then we all walk right in.

The lobby in the hotel is pretty large, about as big as three rooms. A bit rich for my taste. Then again, I'm living in a large house that's like a mansion with ten other people. I approach the desk with Hope while Chantal and Sky take a look around. I just hope they don't touch anything, I can't afford anything they might break. Not that I'm assume they will, just don't want to risk the thought.

Nobody's behind the counter so I rang the bell on the desk. "Be right there." Someone says in the back room. I wait patiently for the manager, then he finally comes out from the back room. "Welcome to Le Grand Hôtel, finest hotel in all of Paris. How am I-" The second he gets a look at me, he is suddenly in fear. "Oh no! You're back!? Not OPRHAN! Not here! NOT NOW!" He ducks, hiding right underneath the desk.

I'm a bit irritated. I know what he's worried about. "You can relax. Lightning's not here."

The second he hears that, he sticks his head out from behind the counter. "Oh...she isn't?" I nod, then he looks to search for the pink haired soldier. He stands back up. "Thank goodness."

Everyone else heard that little conversation I had, even since the manager was yelling. "What did Lightning do when you guys last came here?" Chantal asks.

"You have to trust me when I say you do NOT want to know." Hope says.

"You're on a business trap? should I be concerned?" He asks.

"Only if an agent of the Abduction Agency is in one of your rooms." I say, seriously.

"Oh, well in that case. I'm off the hook." Even saying that, it doesn't take my eyes off of him suspiciously. So he is off the hook...for now. "Okay...so, three rooms...Are the...young couple over there sharing a room?" The manage asks as he looks over my shoulder at Chantal and Sky.

"No. And they're not...exactly a couple. Hope and I will be sharing a room." I say.

"Oh...well, that's quite the Odd Couple." He managers with a laugh in the add.

I'm offended, cause that would make it sound like I would be in a relationship with a 15 year old boy. I don't even want a Girlfriend, this is where I draw the line. "You take that back or I'm gonna make you into a crambula!"

The manage is now nervous. "Okay. Okay. Just relax." The manage takes out three keycards. "Here are your keys."

I accept the keycards and then I hand Chantal and Sky theirs. We escort Sky and Chantal to their rooms. In secret, I slip a small bug right in Chantal's purse. That way, I can do my mission an keep an ear on her incase of any danger.

Once we escort Chantal and Sky to their rooms, Hope and I go to ours. Hope does most of the unpacking while I do some adjustments to my Sniper Bow and Bowblades. Once Hope is done, he slumps on the bed, sighing in exhaustion.

"By the way. You said that Rufus is a dangerous man. Just how exactly are we gonna face him? We may still have our powers as a l'Cie, but I'm pretty sure we're still out matched." Hope says.

"Don't worry. I have a plan to apprehend this criminal." I say, cocking the Sniper Bow.

"But it's just the two of us. We don't have an army." Hope says.

"I'm well aware of that. I know a group of Mercenaries here in Paris that'll help us." I say. "We just need to meet them at their hideout."

"Okay. If you say so." Hope says.

* * *

While all of us are settling in at the hotel, an enemy awaits in the dark side of Paris.

A man in a mask, a mask that symbols the face of Bhunivelze the evil grand Fal'Cie who once ruled the world, and metal armor sits upon his throne. Before him is the suspicious man from the airport. He kneels before him, explaining what he has saw. ORPHAN l'Cie's have arrived in Paris. They figured that Hope and I are here to bring down the criminal organization they are trying to restore.

In the end, the man shows a hologram of the group that arrived.

The evil leader has his eyes focused on me. "Leave me." He says. The man stands, bows then leaves. Once he is alone, he continues to speak. "So...my old enemy returns, and he comes to try and stop the Abduction Agency once again. At last. I will finish what we started all those years ago."

* * *

 _Three years ago_

 _I sit on my desk, in my small house in Bodhum. I am eightteen years of age, living alone as a Mercenary. I've been through horrible events and was forced to drop out of school, run away from my home of Leronde and then became a Mercenary in a new town._

 _It's not too bad. My mastery in Archery and my few skills of Karate manage to get me this far. I just wish business would be able to take me further._

 _As of right now, I'm desperate to finding jobs. It's been weeks since I last got a mission and I'm running low on funds and supplies. I push the button on the recording machine, only to receive the same old message:_

 _"No new messages"_

 _I sighed depressively and slump my head into my arms._

 _I decided to go for a walk. It's a lovely sunny day on the beach side city of Bodhum. I head for the NORA cafe. Normally, I'd hate being here cause of Snow, but back then, my hatred is only slim cause of few times Snow has feed it._

 _I sit on bar right in front of Lebreau, who is working behind the counter. "Hey there, Patrick."_

 _"Lebreadu." I say._

 _"How's business going?" Lebreau asks._

 _"Slow as usual." I say. "I'm just hoping I'll be able to find a job."_

 _"I'm sure something will turn up. Snow's always looking for openings." Lebreau says._

 _I think about it for a moment. "I'll...think about it. I'll just have my usual."_

 _Lebreau goes to the back and then returns shortly with a cup of Hot Chocolate. "On the house."_

 _I appreciate her offer. After getting my drink, I continue taking a walk around the city, setting up fresh "Mercenary for Hire" posters. Once I got home in the afternoon, I have received a message. I was thrilled, even though my expression doesn't show it. I play the message and listen to what it says:_

 _"Greetings, Patrick. I am Rufus Zero. I have heard of your Mercenary job openings and I have an offer for you: I run a secret organization known as the Abduction Agency. I sure you have heard of us since you are our brother. I would be my honor to help out a fellow brother in need. Connect me as soon as you get this message-"_

 _I cut off the message in offensive frustration. I have heard of the Abduction Agency. Throughout town, people, mainly girls, assume I'm some kind of sexist pervert, few them of believe I work for the Abduction Agency. All because of one very stupid reason: I'm a boy._

 _It's bad enough citizens would think this, now that criminal organization now believes I'm one of them. I just hate it!_

 _No more job openings came throughout the day. I practice my shooting in the afternoon, and by evening, I made myself some dinner with the last bit of food I have. I still have some money to buy more, but it's not gonna last me long._

 _After dinner, I have a chat with my friend Serah over the phone. We just talked a little and I told her about my struggle at work. She feels sorry for me and talks about how I would be more fitted to work for the Guardian Corps. Maybe she's right, but I have no qualifications to apply there. I may have started out as a smart kid who skipped a grade in Middle School, but I never graduated from High School, unlike her sister Lightning._

 _After the call, I turn on the TV and listen to the news._

 _"This is the Sanctum Bulletin. over the past week, citizens of Bodhum have been disappearing constantly, mainly women. Many families and other citizens are panicking as people wonder who are the criminals behinds the kidnapping and who or when they will strike next."_

 _I know the criminals are most likely the Abduction Agency. I even glare at the screen at the very thought of those animals. The news continues next with an interview of PSICOM director Yaag Rosch._

 _"It has come to the attention of PSICOM and the Guardian Corps that this criminals are becoming a grave threat to the very peace of Cocoon. We have worked so hard over the centuries since the Transgression War with Pulse to mention peace throughout the world. The criminals are at large and there are no tracks of who they are or any signs of where they are hiding out. There through, if anyone knows anything of these kidnappers, report it to the Sanctum and a large reward maybe granted."_

 _Hearing that has me on alert. The Sanctum are looking for the Abduction Agency, and those Perverts have given me a job opportunity to work for them._

 _Mixing them both together, I have a plan that will fix everything._


	2. Burn and Dates

**A/N: Secrets of the past are soon to be revealed. All though I suppose it wouldn't count as a secret since I mentioned most of them as the story goes on, but you know what I mean.**

 **The story goes on as the whole two side story begins, one where Hope and I go on a search for Rufus Zero and the other about Chantal's date with Sky. Also, you may notice there are going to be two special guest stars in this story. Those who is NOT an OC and not in any of the Final Fantasy series. Might be a bit off for Fanfiction, then again, Warlords Wrath Online is Sword Art Online and Final Fantasy XIII, and the death game the story is about is based off of World of Warcraft.**

 **Keep your eyes out for this special guest. SnowEmbrace, I bet you'll know who they are.**

 **(Also, the story's Image Cover is one of SnowEmbraces best ChantalxSky deviant images)**

* * *

The day has pasted, but dawn barely appears. It's exactly three in the morning. Chantal and Sky are both still asleep. Hope would be too if I didn't command him to get up. I maybe Lieutenant of of the Guardian Corps, but I still out rank Hope since he's only an Academia scientist.

We are to meet a group of friends of mine I've made during my years as a Mercenary: Burn. And the best way to meet them is before dawn, where we are less likely to be followed. To make certain we're still stealthy, I have Hope and I put on black hooded mantles.

We head outside of the city of Paris, to the cemetery. "So, why are we going to the cemetery again?" Hope whispers as we travel up hill.

"The cemetery is the very last place people would think to look for a hide out for Burn. I never understand why. Probably something about not wanting to disturb the peace of the dead...Whatever the reason, it was pretty clever." I say. We reach to the top of the hill, where there is a large memorial tombstone in the center. "Here we are."

Hope doesn't seems the least amused. "I don't see anything."

"Not everything is what it seems, kid. Never judge a book by it's cover." I grab the coffin and remove the lid. Hope expects a dead body inside the box of death, but inside, it's a stairway to the blackest of darkness.

"A hidden passage?" Hope asks. "That's clever."

"Remain cautious." I remind Hope, as I walk into the crypt.

After lighting a touch with Hopes magic, we wonder through the endless darkness of the underground tunnel. We wonder for a couple of minutes. All we found is countless hallways. "There are so many empty rooms and multiple hallways."

"Burn set up multiple empty rooms and hallways to confuse robbers or enemies hunting them down. You can get so easily lost in here." I say.

Hope stops on his feet after hearing that. "Well, that's a good thing to know right after we came down here!"

Saying that, something ambushes Hope. I didn't make up who it was cause of the darkness that surrounds us. Hope and the attacker are rolling until they stop, with Hope on his stomach, arm bent all the way back, and the attacker as her left Ember Celica right on the back of Hope's neck.

"Who are you? How did you found us? And you have two seconds to explain right before I split your skull into two!" She says hostilely.

Hope turns head head, struggling to do so, to get a look at his attacker. It's but a girl with golden blonde hair. She is wearing a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow low-cut crop top with a black crest that resembles a burning heart. The vest has puffy cap sleeves with black cuffs. A brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object with the same burning crest appears on this banner, except golden in color. She wears black shorts under her belt, which resembles a pleated skirt in the back. Over the black shorts but under the belt is a white asymmetrical back skirt. brown knee-high platform boots that appear to be made of leather, with orange socks of different lengths. Her left leg also has a gray bandanna-like object wrapped around the top of her boot. She wears fingerless black gloves underneath her weapons, which resemble two yellow mechanized gauntlets with a black design. All complete with an orange infinity scarf around her neck.

The girl suddenly relaxes realizing who the intruder is. "Hey...you're just a kid. What are you doing down here?"

"Yang!" Yang looks up, directly at me, when I call out. "Good to see you old friend."

I approach Yang with a fist out. She looks concern, then she retreats her left Ember Celica. We both do a secret handshake. starting with Yang doing the upper fist bump, then me doing the upper, then normal fist bump, elbow bump, finger snaps then finish it with a final fist bump.

Yang is surprised, in a good way. "Patrick! Oh my gosh, it's good to see you." Yang gets a good look at me, head to toe. "Three years later and you're still as shady as ever."

"Thank you...I think?" I say, a bit confused on the second part.

While we're having our reunion, Hope is moaning in pain. "Excuse me! But...you are a squishing...my kidney!" He says, straining.

"Oh, sorry about that." Yang gets off of Hope, then she grabs him by the collar and lifts him back on his feet. "I'm surprised to see you come to a dangerous place with a wimp like him." Yang pats Hopes head saying that, which makes the kid feel bad that she's calling him a weakling.

"Says the girl who endangered herself and her little sister when they were children just to find her mother." I say, and Yang seems offended to hear me say that. "But I need the attention of the full Burn team. Please."

"Of course. Anything for you, old friend." Yang leads the way. "This way."

Yang leads Hope and I thought the crypt. I've known Yang since she became a victim to the Abduction Agency. I rescued her during my plans to sabotage the organizations deliveries. Ever since then, she and her team, Burn, have given me excellent job opportunities for in return.

Yang takes us to the secret headquarters of Burn, which is at the very end of the catacombs. In the underground lair, there awaits six other people. A man with a bostaff stands by the entrance. He is not pleased to see us.

"Yo, Yang. What is this? You bringing strangers to our secret lair?" The man asks.

"Relax, Hamato. They're cool." Yang says. "Patrick. Hope. Allow me to introduce to team Burn. This here is Hamato. Highly trained in Kendo and skilled with a bostaff."

That's a bit strange. I'm pretty sure people who take Kendo uses swords. Then again, I work for the military and use bows over guns. Yang takes us to the next member, who is some ninja girl with short black hair. "Here is Yuffie. A great ninja with a large 4-point shuriken, and a master thief."

Yuffie smiles as she looks at us. "Say. You boys are kind of cute."

On that, hope and I have no idea how to respond to that. Then Yang speaks. "All right, Yuffie. Give them back."

Yuffie acts all innocent and clueless. "Whatever could you mean?" Yang gives Yuffie a serious look, even readies her Ember Celicas for a mix of punching and shooting. "All right, all right." Yuffie reaches in her pockets and takes out two wallets. Hope and I are surprised, we check our pockets to find they're empty. Yuffie stoled our wallets, then she tosses them back to us.

"You see? Master thief." Yang says. Yang shows us the next member of Burn, who is a man with a scar through his closed left eye, wielding two knifes and a large katana resting on its holster on his back. "This is Slash. Tough assassin who has been banned from 37 different countries."

"38 eight, actually." Slash corrections.

Yang doesn't usually like to be corrected, but she can't really argue with Slash. She moves on to to next member: "And this is blaze. Our main assault with a two-handed axe. He also knows 49 different forms of pain." Yang leans close to Hope and I, whispering. "And thirteen of them are illegal."

Hope seems a bit afraid. "Wow...that's...scary..."

Blaze gives Hope the cold look. Realizing that, Yang saves him. "Okay, moving on." Yang takes us the next member, with is a girl with black hair and lips, smoothing a cigarette. I know who she is and I'm not too happy to see her. "This is Violet. She may have a bad attitude, but she's powerful as a Vampire."

"I know who she is." I say, as I look directly at Violet. "Violet."

My tone turns cold, so is Violet's as she turns the look. "Patrick...Still giving me the cold shoulder cause of that slut friend of yours?"

"You leave Chantal alone!" I say.

"Like I ever take orders from some shady pretty boy." Violet says.

"I'm sensing there's bad blood between the two of you." Yang says. Now Yang introduces us to the final member of Burn, which is a black hair girl with a red hood, in black and red dress clothing and wields some gun scythe. "And this is my second in command and little sister, Ruby."

Ruby stands up and looks at Hope and I. "Oh. I've never met one of Yang's friends. Nice to meet you both." Rose takes notice of the dual swords resting on the sides of my quiver. She gasps in shock. If this were an amine, Ruby's eyes would sparkle in bright stars. "Is that...Is that Bowswords!" She's pretty excited. "Oh! I can't believe it! I have heard of them, but never came this close to one! They're incredibly rare!"

I feel a bit awkward. "I take it...she's excited?"

Yang laughs. "Yeah. My little sister is a dork with weapons. She even designed her own."

Violet is growing impatient. "All right, enough with the introductions. Why are these losers here?"

* * *

Over the rest of the night, I explain to Team Burn about Rufus Zero. He's still alive and is possibly trying to revive the Abduction Agency. Yang is not happy at all to hear this, since she became one of his victims, and neither is Violet. Burn agrees to help out to find Rufus Zero and bring him to justice.

Now it's morning. Chantal and Sky are just waking up after a long night of sleep. They do not wait for Hope and I, knowing that we would already be gone and doing work, though Chantal feels a bit thinks we would have at least say are farewells before departing.

Chantal is already up and ready. She's feel pretty nervous. Now it's just her and Sky alone.

Once Sky is ready they both have a walk around the streets of Paris. "This is incredible. Never have I ever believed I would be able to visit Paris."

"Your friend sure hooked us up." Sky says. "When I first met him, I thought he was the cold-blooded type."

Chantal laughs nervously. "Yeah...he, may seem that way. But he is still a good person."

Enough talking about me. I'm not here and having a conversation about me shouldn't butt in on their date. They start off going for a walk around the city. Why not? They're in a beautiful city on a different country. There's nothing wrong with a little sight seeing, especially since this date is going to last days perhaps. Capturing Rufus is not going to be easy.

Chantal is having a fun time. Looking around. Seeing flowers and smelling the scent of fresh baguettes.

By noon, they have found a park and decided to take a walk around it. It's a lovely view. Clear blue skies, bright green with the sun shining on the grass. Chantal is pretty amazed at the beauty. We have a fine time together at the park, Chantal's favorite was when Sky picked a purple lily for her. She really loved it, especially the smell. Made her blush.

After a while of walking, Chantal is starting to get a little tired. "You all right?"

"Y-yeah...I probably just need to rest a little." Chantal says.

"Well, perhaps I can remedy that." Sky says.

Chantal wonders what he could mean, but her answer comes soon enough. "Wh-what. What are you?" Sky lifts Chantal from behind, carrying the girl on his is pretty surprised, once realizing the positioned she's in, her face becomes hot, blushing in redness.

"Do you remember that time when I tried to carry you like this?" Sky asks.

"H-how can I forget?" Chantal says. "We ended up felling on the ground."

"Laughing too I recall." Sky says, ending with both him and Chantal laughing.

Sky walks around while carrying Chantal. She's in a public strange place on the back of a boy she's crushing on. She doesn't even care. Sky walks to a blossom tree. Chantal reaches up and grabs one of the tips of the branch, holding nearly a dozen of cherry blossoms in her hand.

However, she is caught by surprise one the butterfly on it flies off. She did not see it. She gives a small gasp then laughs. Most of the people in the park notice the young couple and watches. Some of them smiles, they enjoy seeing those two together. It's cute.

Sky and Chantal notices eyes on them, and Chantal is nervous. "People are watching..."

"You want to come down?" Sky asks, not even taking his eyes off of everyone.

Chantal doesn't say anything, just nervously smiles and waves, the people send waves back at her.

Meanwhile, I'm riding on Yang's motorcycle. If we are going to find Rufus, we need some information. Luckily, I know a man who use to be a business man for the Abduction Agency. He had all connections, even held all information and locations of women the organization were targeting.

Yang stops the motorcycle and parks it outside of the Restaurant: Bella Notte. We get off, and then Violet makes an appearance. She has her own ride: Her Vampire powers of speed and high jumps.

I give the two girls a bit of a warning while we go in. "All right, I know this man very well. Both of you, do not say anything, do not do anything, do not make any direct eye contact with him or his goons. Let me do all the talking, and we'll walk away happy." I stop and look at Violet. "As for you..." Violet looks at me, uninterested. "Try not to get all bitchy like you usually do."

I continue to walk, Yang follows me, but Violet stays behind, sighing. "You're no fun, you know that?" Then she follows us.

Inside the restaurant, an Italian business man sits at the end of the room, eating his lunch of spaghetti. Don Vizioso. And each by his side are his bodyguards. Two goons.

I walk right in the bar, with Yang and Violet each by my sides, acting as my muscles. I sit on a chair across from Don, Yang and Violet just stand in place. Don Vizioso just eats and I wait patiently for him to speak.

"So...the traitor returns." Don says. After a pause, he looks at Violet then Yang. "And I get you've got yourself a pair of prudes with you." He gives a quiet chuckle and winks at the girls. Violet and, mostly, Yang give him cold aggressive glares.

"Spare me the insults, Don Vizioso. You know why I am here." I say.

"Hmm...How can I not? You coming here at the same country as Zero did." Don says.

"You're as intellect as you were three years ago. Which is why you're gonna tell me everything you know about where Rufus is and what he's planning." I say.

"Well then, you're just wasting your time, Shadow Hunter. I know nothing about any of Rufus's updates." Don says. "Even if I did, I would never rat him out to a traitor such as you."

"I was never a traitor, Vizioso. You perverts were all fools to hire me when I want nothing to do with you animals." I say, my tone turning hostile. In other words: Gave them a taste of their own medicine.

"Tomato, toe-ma-toe. I don't have anything for you." Don says.

That's when Violet finally snaps. She leaps over the table, grabs Don by the collar and pins him against the wall. Don's goons both take out their knifes and point them at Violet. "You better tell us everything you know, moron! Or I sewer, I will siphon every ounce of blood from within you like the cow you are! Drop! By! Drop!"

Don is overwhelmed in terror as the young vampire hisses at him, revealing her fangs. Yang grabs Violet and pulls her back. "What are you doing? Did you forget Patrick's orders?"

"Like I would take orders from this loser." Violet says.

"Patrick knows these guys very well, and you want the organization defeated as much as we do. Remember what they did to your sister." Yang growls at the thought. Her sister Rosaline became a victim of the Abduction Agency. She made it out safely because of me, but she was not unharmed in the hands of those animals. "Let's just do what he says and we'll get what we want."

That said, Yang and Violet return positions, then Don sits back in place, still nervous at Violet's words. "Uh...perhaps I may have, uh...been too hasty. I indeed have some information that may...prove to be useful for your search."

Yang is surprised that he's given up so easily cause of Violet. Even Violet grins proudly. "Very well. Speak, Vizioso." I say, ready to listen closely.

* * *

 _After hearing the news on the TV, I have a plan. Ever since I have once heard of the Abduction Agency two years ago, I've been wanting to teach those animals a lesson. I blame them for the judgement I've suffered. Once I destroy them, everyone will know the kind of person I really am, instead of letting the shadows elude them from the truth._

 _I made a call to the Sanctum, telling them that I have a plan in mind, and I need their help to do it. So I instructed the director of PSICOM, Yaag Rosch, to meet me in a hidden ally almost outside of the city of Bodhum. There, we will be able to speak privately without any scouts or rats._

 _Rosch walks down the streets of the city with two men at each of his side, each of them shrouded in hooded cloaks. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if it's a trap?"_

 _"I'm just as concern as you are, Sergeant. But this men promises vulnerable knowledge of our case with the kidnapping of women." Rosch says. "Keep your eyes and ears open, and remain cautious."  
_

 _Rosch and his men arrive at the destination. To their surprise, the alley is dark and empty. Gives them a feeling on concern._

 _After a moment, I appear from the shadows, shrouded in a hooded cloak as well. "Well, I didn't expect you to show up."_

 _I remove my hood, revealing my face. The two soldiers have their guns pointed at me. "Well...if it isn't the Mercenary. What an unexpected surprise." Rosch gestures a hand telling his men to stand down, and they lower their weapons. "What is it that you want?"_

 _"We have a common enemy. The one's who are behind the kidnapping." I say._

 _"You know who they are, don't you?" He asks._

 _I nod. "The Abduction Agency."_

 _The soldiers seem uncertain. "I've never heard a name like that. He must be making it up."_

 _"No. They are real. They're a criminal organization. Completely under the radar." I say._

 _Rosch is suspicious. "You use to be one of them...didn't you?"_

 _"I can ensure you, I am nothing one of their disgusting kind. They are dead to me, and I want them as good as dead." I say._

 _"What are you playing at, boy?" Rosch asks._

 _"I know how to stop them once and for all, but in order to do it, I'm gonna need you to do exactly what I say." I tell Rosch._

 _"And why should we trust a Mercenary like you?" Rosch asks._ _I can understand Rosch's disturbs. Mercenaries are known to be untrustworthy. They only care about money._

 _"I'll have you know I'm not like other Mercenaries. I an honorable man. If I wasn't, I would have you dead right about now since it was your little Purge that took away my mother right before my very eyes! Besides. If there's anyone in the Sanctum I've got a score to settle, it's that monstrous bitch Nabaat who took my father away with her evil experiments. The Abduction Agency has been nothing more then a thorn at my side and they have caused trouble for you Sanctum soldiers. We both want them defeated, but you need inside information and I need people who can act as my hands of combat without the enemy noticing my true colors. So we can work together, get what we went, and everyone goes home happy."_

 _Rosch says nothing, then one of the soldiers speaks to him. "I don't like this, sir. He may be speaking the truth, but it could still be a trap."_

 _The second one continues. "We are desperate to solve this case, but should we really all our hopes on a Mercenary?"_

 _Rosch thinks about what both his soldiers and I say. What we say have rings of truth, but he puts his instincts in charge of this decision. Then he speaks to me. "What do you have in mind, boy?"_

 _I smile. I'm glad he's gonna play along. "Here's the plan."_


	3. Blesses and Shipments

**A/N: Patrick is certainly up to something if he is working with PSICOM back in the past. What could he be up to, I wonder? But the past is past. We should be focusing on the present.**

 **Speaking of which, if you guys having figured it out. Yang and Ruby are the special guest stars. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long from the anime RWBY. It's pretty awesome...but I think the running time could have been a little longer. Especially in the first volume. It's quite disappointing.**

* * *

The bells of Notre Dame ring as the clock strikes four.

Chantal and Sky had a fine afternoon together at the park, despite the part where everyone else was casting eyes on them. Didn't bother Sky very much but Chantal speaks differently. The poor girl was embarrassed.

After the park, they go on for a walk around town, this time side to side instead of one on the others back or shoulders.

There is one place Chantal wants to visit today, but this time it is Sky who is nervous. They are going to visit Notre Dame. The holy church. The very home of the Maker. Since Sky is half demon, he feels nervous stepping upon the holy ground of the building, even though he was really born human and he still has a heart and soul even after the...dark incident.

But that still doesn't ease his conscious.

The young sort-ofish couple stands right in front of the large church. The tables have turn for it is Sky who is nervous and not Chantal. Chantal notices his tense. "You okay?" She asks.

"Uh...yes. It's just that...we're going to a church and...I'm just..." Chantal can get what he's trying to say. If there's one thing Sky fears it's his dark side, and I mean literally. The darkness within him takes form and he turns into a demon. It's a curse he's had in the last few years.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure of it." Chantal says.

Chantal knows the kind of person Sky is, even though sometimes he hardly ever shows it. That I can relate given to my cold-blooded aura.

Grabbing hold of Sky's arms, she helps him make his first steps on the church.

Upon his first step on the holy ground, Sky is expecting the holy flames to smite him all the way to the depths of the fiery pit where demons belong. After a moment of clarity, nothing happens. He relaxes, but remain cautious. He maybe fine now, but who knows what'll happen if he brings his unholy presence deep within the cathedral.

They walk into the foyer until they both stand in the light, shining through the stained glass window of the Savior's cross. Chantal and Sky look up on it.

"I've always wanted to come here." Chantal asks. "Being here makes me feel blessed, even after all I've been put through in this broken world."

Sky gets that feeling, all though his might be on a whole different level. A two sided dark suffering. One of turning into a demon, another being mistreated and unloved by his own parents, and abandoned by his older brother. "You sure went through a hard time."

Chantal changes into a depressed expression as the bad memories take place in her mind. "I had a happy love with friends and my family. But then Violet came into my life."

Violet was a total bitch, and I don't mean it in a rude bad attitude way, she literally is. A drinker. Smoker. Bad attitude of arrogance, anger and a hunger for lust. The worst part about Violet is that she's a bully. Chantals bully. Picked on her for being a nerd and beat her up for it. I've never really liked her for that, since it's a sign of dishonorable cowardice. Since then, Chantal's changed, mostly becoming shy.

Sky is aware of Violet. He is the who saved Chantal from her and her boyfriend. "You know, she always picked on me for being smart and for my love of fairytales. Ever since I've met you, she teased me for crushing on you." Chantal's too upset to be flustered or embarrassed by saying her feelings for him. "She always say that I'm just a loser and will never be with someone like you." And Sky dating her friend Katryx is certainly the reality of it.

Sky can feel her depression and cheers her up. "Well, you're not a loser to me." Chantal's depression suddenly disappears and she is caught by surprise as he wraps an arm around her, puling Chantal close. "You are a good friend, Chantal. And such a cutey too. If I was single-" And perhaps would have known about her crush on him years ago before Katryx came around. "I would go out with you."

Chantal can't help but turn completely red and smile. She has hardly been this close to Sky, other then being carried. And his words certainly speak the truth. He cares for her just as much as she does for him.

Chantal and Sky both look back up the picture of the cross. They are blessed by the Maker and the Savior, for the holy ground make their worries and darkness of the past disappear.

* * *

Outside of Paris is a dock where there are countless loads of shipment supplies.

Earlier today, I made a meeting with Don Vizioso. I demanded to know everything about Rufus's whereabouts and what he is planning. It's just as a feared. Rufus is planning on rebuilding the Abduction Agency. To kidnap and abduct women and turn them into sex slaves just like they use to.

However, Rufus is expecting my return to stop him once again, so he is planning on remedying that by getting his hands on powerful arsenal.

From what Don can explain, he has no clue of where Rufus is hiding out, but he is expecting more shipments of military weapons, either stolen from ORPHAN or delivered by PSICOM. Either way, it's bad.

Tonight, he's expecting a next shipment at the docks. We have to stop him there if we are to bring an end to the Abduction Agency.

Right now, Yang, Yuffie, Slash and I hideout on one of the cargo loads. We wait all evening for the arrival of the shipment. It's already 7 and the dark skies take place.

"Are you sure about this?" Yang asks.

"I have my doubts about Don as well, but we don't have any other leads at the moment." I say.

Yuffie crawls between Yang and I and hands us some apples. "Luckily I brought some food for this occasion."

"Stealing food again?" Slash says.

Yuffie gives Slash an offended look. "Wh-hey. How dare you. I'll have you know I bought these..." She turns from Slash then quietly whispers. "With the money I stoled." She is not helping herself. Yuffie is her own defendant and witness of the crime.

Just then, I see someone coming. "Shh. Get down!" Yuffie gets down on her stomach and the three of us watch while Slash just sits behind, sharpening his knives.

On the ground are three men. Cain O'Neil, who I once knew as Rufus's vice leader, and two other men who would serve as his bodyguards.

"Cain O'Neil." I whispered.

Yang is disgusted at the sight of him. He use to be her trainer, or master as they call themselves, when she was enslaved. "Never thought I'd see that monster again."

I look through the scope of my Sniper Bow, I always make sure the safety is one that way I don't accidentally shoot and give away my position or hurt someone I didn't mean too like that Russian helicopter. I can see Cain is talking, but can hardly make out his words. I've been learning how to read lips, but I'm no professional. I can only understand "Don't shoot" or "use Explosive Arrow".

"We need to get a closer look, hear what they're up too." I say. "Follow me."

We hide on ground level. I warn everything to stay quiet and hidden in the shadows, then we split up. We hurry when out in the open darkness, moving from one hiding spot to the next. I stop once I am close to Cain, I cannot say for sure how the others are doing, until Yang appears right next to me.

Just then, an airship appears out of nowhere. It lands at the docks and the hanger door opens. PSICOM troopers and their new leader, Jeannette Nabaat who happens to be the sister of my monstrous enemy Jill Nabaat, walk right it.

"Jeannette?" I whisper in surprise.

Jeannette is dressed like Barthandelus, when he is in human form, and her hair is long and brown. Just like Jill, she is smart and she works on the evil Cie'th experiments. I'll be cutting her heart out if I hear she's doing the same experiment of testing people's family love with l'Cies fate like she did me me and my father.

"You know her?" Yang whispers.

"She's the sister of the monster I told you about." I say. "I'm guessing she must have taken leadership after I cut Jills black heart out. Which quite frankly I'm surprised that bitch even had one."

I remain quiet as I see they're about to talk.

"Jeannette. You're looking as lovely as ever." Cain says. I cann't tell if her means it or just says it in sarcasm. "Do you have the shipment?"

"First thing's first: Do you have what I requested?" Jeannette asks.

Cain is a bit irritated that she demands to have her money first, cause otherwise it's either a scam, she take the money and run, or he's paying for something that's a rip off or not as promised. That much I can relate to the feeling.

Cain's right man approaches and opens the suitcase, revealing a whole case of Gil within. Jeannette smiles and then looks at one of her soldiers. "Bring in the stuff."

The soldiers head back to the airship and they unload all the stuff. Crate loads of missile launchers, machine guns, mega fists. Looks like PSICOM has been busy after their defeat. Once everything is unloaded, I search to find Yuffie and Slash, whom are not too far from us.

I gesture hand singles, telling them to sabotage the weapons but remain hidden, they nod and we all make our move. While the enemy are not looking, we dash around through the docks. Some of them can sense something's up, almost detected some of us running around them.

Yuffie is the first one to get to the shipment. She bends down, hiding behind from the enemy to remain unseen. Yang and I see where she is and take notice that she's about to steal a way. I mouth at her to not do it, but she doesn't listen. Yuffie takes one of the missile launchers and ends up yelling as she falls back and fall on the ground.

The enemy have spotted her and I slap my head in disappointment. She just can't last five minutes without having to steal something, can't she?

"Intruders!" Cain and his men and the PSICOM troopers take out their guns. "Attack!" Then they start shooting.

We all make a run for it, avoiding getting shot at. I rush to Yang's side, still running as I give her an order. "Take out their weapons!"

Yang nods then we disband. With my speed, I become the bait for the enemy, running close for them to pay attention to me. What they don't know is once I'm close, I toss my throwing stars at them. Six of then fired, they only hit two of the guns, which overloads from damage and explodes.

With them defenseless, Yang and Yuffie assaults them. While Yuffie only fights with her large shuriken and make her enemies lose their balance and flip them, Yang hits her enemies hard with her punches and kicks. Whenever her fists made contact, they shoot powerful shots on them. It doesn't kill them, but sure hurts a lot.

Cain shoots to hold us off. "Get these things loaded!" He shouts, and a truck appears.

The drivers come out and get ready to load the crates. "Stop them!" I order.

Slash goes after the truck, but Cain is expecting an attack and he defends his men. Jeanette sees the situation they're all in, and she decided to bring in the calvary. "Release the experiments."

The hanger door on the airship opens. I take notice that something is going on, and I am not too pleased to see it. Coming out are dozens of Cie'th, in various types. I'm just lucky there's no Titan Hulk Cie'th, cause I can't even look at those without being paralyzed in fear.

Jeannette puts on a metal headband, and the second she turns it on the Cie'th act in different behavior. They're eyes glow for a second and they went from mindless creatures to mentally enslaved monsters.

"This is bad." I take out my Bowswords, wielding the right one normally and the left one backhanded, and I attack the monsters. My attacks are swift and powerful, even though Lightning says my sword skills need some work.

Yang is busy taking care of the soldiers, the second she has them all down, she is greeted by a Winged Cie'th, who swoops down and nearly took Yang's head right off. "Whoa!" Yang looks up to see the monster. "Huh...well that's new." Yang turns to see I'm busy fighting the Cie'th. Even though I have the beasts under control, she comes to my aid anyways.

I'm caught by surprise to see Yang throwing herself against a Cie'th. Then again, that's what she does. She's like a female, reckless but smart and cunning, version of Snow. Without any arrogance I might add. If only Snow can be more like Yang.

I figured Yang can handle the ground Cie'th, so I switch my attention to the flying ones. I shift my weapon into a bow, the hilts linked together like two halves, the blades on each end and they bend to take place as the limbs and a metal coil coming out of each end of the blade to form a bowstring.

With the bow at my hand, I load it with arrows and shoot down the Winged Cie'th.

The workers are about to load the final crate onto the truck, but Yuffie and Slash stands in their way and attack. Cain gets in between the two teams and shoots. "Leave it! Take what we have and let's get out!"

In a hurry, the workers get in the truck and start it up. Cain back steps as he sets his eyes on the two members of Burn. Yuffie is running and dodging the bullets while Slash deflects with his Katana. The truck starts up, and that's when Cain jumps into the truck with the crates, and drives away.

Jeanette notices the Abduction Agency members leaving, she takes her leave as well. The airship starts up and then flies away. Yang and I finish off the last of the Cie'th. Finally out of combat, we see that both of our enemies have left, and one of them got away with the new set of weapons.

* * *

After our mission on the docks, we return to the hideout. "Well...that went...well." Yang says.

"Yeah, the enemy got away with the weapons and we end up with an army of Cie'th and only a crate of their weapons." I say. "If PSICOM are working with the Abduction Agency, then we're in a staggering amount of trouble."

Violet is not too pleased either. She lets out a sigh as she lays down. "You should have just let me come along. I would have taken at least one of them for interrogation. Maybe then we'll learn their next move."

"Maybe we still can." Hearing Yuffie say that sends us to a confusion, then we notice that she's holding a flashdrive in her hand, showing it to us.

Hope is surprised by it and takes it. "I know this...it's a PSICOM Data COM."

I'm surprised to learn that and then look at Yuffie. "You stoled it from Jeannette?"

Yuffie shrugs her shoulders. "It was very easy. She wasn't even paying attention to me when I was on the move."

"If we can decode this, maybe we'll find some valuable information about Rufus." Hope says.

"I like your thinking kid." I put a hand on Hope's shoulder. "Let's head back to the hotel. It's been a long day." Hope and I make our leave. I wave back at Yang and the others before we leave. "See you all in the morning."

Hope and I make our way back to the hotel. Meanwhile, Chantal and Sky are both putting an end to their day as well. even though Chantal doesn't want it to end, she has no other choice. But it's really nothing for her to worry about. There's still tomorrow.

As of right now, they are both in front of each others rooms. Same hallway, their rooms across from each other. "S-so..." Chantal nervous scratches her head. "I-I had...some fun tonight."

"So did I...can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow...unless that friend of yours already captured that man he is after." Sky says. Chantal giggles, knowing what he says is a joke. If I was there, I would feel offended, even know it's true despite Rufus's power and cunning.

No more words come out of the young couple. Sky decided to end this night by giving Chantal a kiss on the cheek. Doing that, the girl's face brights up in redness, eyes shot wide open as she gives off the thousand yard stare.

Sky unlocks the door and goes into his room, leaving Chantal behind, frozen, and then fainting. Just as that happens, Hope and I now make our return. "Just one day and we are hardly any close to finding Rufus." Hope says.

"He's a smart and cunning man, Hope. Because of him, the organization got away with everything 100% up until-" I went silent and Hope and I stop on our trail when we see something is in out way, or someone I should say.

We both see Chantal fainted on the ground, smiling. "What...happened?" Hope wonders, unsure how to feel for this situation.

"If I had to guess. I'd say her day with Sky went well." I say. If that's true, then I'm glad. At least my plan for those two are going well. Hearing that makes Hope feel a bit sad, losing the girl he's crushing on with some shady prince charming. but, that doesn't overwhelm when he smiles, realizing how beautiful she looks asleep. I notice the kids crush-like state and snap my fingers in front of him, waking him from his trance. "Focus casanova. You take care of decoded that drive. I'm gonna take princess here to her chambers."

That said, I grab the key from Chantal's hand. Once I open the door to her room, I carry her back into her room. Hope just watches him until I'm gone, and then lets out a sigh.

* * *

 _The very next day, I called Rufus Zero telling him I accept the job working for the Abduction Agency. Saying that just made it feel like there's a knife cutting the inside of my mouth._

 _Last night, I told Yaag Rosch and the Sanctum soldiers I have a plan to put an end with the Abduction Agency. With the job opportunity they gave him, I'll infiltrate they're headquarters, gather information. I have a feeling their security is greatly high, that if the Guardian Corps will try to invade, great tragedy might strike. For either them or the female victims being tortured in such slavery._

 _I devised a careful plan, that I will do what I can to buy their loyalty while in secret, I'll sabotage their plans and do what I can to help and free the victims._

 _Cain O'Neil dropped by in Bodhum to pick me up. He takes me to a dense forest almost hundreds of miles from the town. Took two hours to get here. Deep within the forest we have reached a dead end. Only it wasn't a dead end for Cain. He pushed a button on his prison truck and the wall slides open, revealing a hidden tunnel._

 _Beyond the tunnel, shows a large mansion surrounded by mountains from behind and both sides. It looks like one of those sinister cathedrals in the movies where the villains have their hideouts or a dungeon for their enemies to suffer in. I wouldn't be surprised if the inside is stone made with touched on the walls as the only source of light._

 _The gates open and the large van drives in and stops in front of the dungeon. Cain and I come out. I wait by the entrance while Cain unloads the truck. I'm not even gonna say what's in it, you can already guess._

 _"You must be Patrick." I turn. Walking into the outside is a man. He looks at the age of 40. Tall. Strong. Tough expression. Short black hair and cold soulless black eyes. He's the one. "Rufus Zero. Please to meet you."_

 _I shake his hand. "Like wise." Not really it is._

 _Rufus escapes me down the hallways, and I was correct on what the inside is like. While giving me the tour, Rufus talks about how it's an honor for him to help out a fellow brother of Lust. How it makes me boil for him to judge me as one of their own. But I have to make him believe otherwise my cover will be blown._

 _Rufus first takes me to his office. His computer is right in front of me which is just what I need. He adds me to the system so I can gain access to certain places around the hideout. The second he is not looking, I open the hard-drive and attached a hacking chip within. That why I'll have access to it on my laptop._

 _I made that chip for just this occasion. Guess those four months of Advanced Computer Aid during my Freshman High School paid off well._

 _After making me an official member, Rufus takes to the my room, which is no different from my whole house, except there's no basement. "Tomorrow, we'll assign you to a team we're sending to pick up our targets. You will be paid 10,000 Gil for each target you have acquired." I grow bitter on the inside. By 'pick up' he means kidnapped. I am also in shock to hear how much money they're offering me. How much are people paying to have sex slaves? My guess is beyond thought. "You'll have the necessary supplies you'll need on your missions. Lock pads. Chains. Chlorform and a rag. Voice operated slave collars."_

 _That last part has my attention. "Voice...operated sir?'_

 _"Yep. Collars that respond only to my voice." Rufus says._

 _"Uh...wouldn't that be a bit of a problem?" I ask, trying to find some useful information about it. I even move my hands behind my back and turn on the recording device I hid in my sleeve._

 _"Ah, don't worry about it. They'll automatic lock once it's been placed on the targets neck." Rufus says._

 _"Right...but...what happens if I accidentally put it on one of our own? Or maybe someone who manages to fight back outs it on me?" I ask._

 _"Well, you better make sure that doesn't happen. If it does, come to me and I'll deactivate it by saying the deactivation code: Freyja." Bingo! He walked right into my trap. "Anyways, ready yourself for tomorrow's assignment, it won't be easy for newcomers."_

 _"Thanks for the advice." I say, watching Rufus leave._

 _The second I'm alone, I turn to my watch and turn it on._

 _In Eden, Yaag Rosch sits in his office in Edenhall. He looks over his computer to see a window pop out. A message window from me, and all it says is that I am online._

 _"He is in." Raag Rosch says._

 _"That's just great. So what do we do now? Track him down?" The general asks._

 _"No. We wait for any further instructions. This maybe hard to do, but we are just going have to leave everything to him...for now." Yaag sets his attention on the message window saying that._

 _Just like him, I desire to bring an end to the Abduction Agency. But I must remain patient. For when the time is right, the organization will fall._


	4. Lunch Dates and Seeking Answers

**A/N: Chantal certainly is having a fun time with Sky so far. Sky seems to be having a fine time as well. That is only just the beginning since it's going to be days before the mission is over. Speaking of which, it seems Patrick's cover is pretty dark back in the past, having to work with Pervs just to stop them. Who knows how long he can keep it up before his hatred over them takes over.**

* * *

Ruby and I head out on the next day.

Last night, Hope decrypted the Data COM Yuffie stoled from PSICOM. It's nothing important to this mission, expect for a list of order shipments of weapons. Most of them have already been delivered in the over night, all though the large list has me worried. I can only imagine what Rufus has planned for so many weapons.

There is but one shipment of military arsenal left that's being transported to the Abduction Agency. Ruby and I are going to stop that shipment.

We stop right at the edge of the cliff. However, Ruby didn't stop in time and is literally on the edge. The girl yells and waves her arms as she tries to stop herself from plummeting to the rocky hill, then I grab her red hood and pull her back.

"Watch your step." I say. Ruby responded with only a smile and a nervous yet embarrassed laughter. The sound of a train hits our ears. We all turn to see a train coming at the long distance. I look through the scope on my Sniper Bow. The train as the PSICOM insignia on it. "There. Get ready."

Ruby positions herself to run and jump with without a moments hesitation. After putting my weapon away, I positioned myself. "Wait..." I tell Ruby. "Steady..." The train inches closer in vision. It starts to pick up speed. "Now!"

We jump over the cliff and slide dash in the dirt. We aim for the ramp and launch ourselves from it. Just as the train is about to leave it's position, we both land right at the very last boxcar. The force of winds is trying to push us off, just before we were blown off, I impale my swords into the train, and Ruby does the same with her Sniper Scythe.

The second we're stable, we get to work. I shift into Synergist, enhancing myself with Bravery. As my strength increases greatly, I shift back into Commando and then use my swords to cut a hole in the boxcar.

I take a look inside. It's all clear, and Ruby and I jump right in. "We must remain stealthy." I say.

"Right." Ruby puts her weapon away. We move to the next car. The second i open the door, it was a mistake. In the next car, it's crawling with PSICOM soldiers. The soldiers are surprised to see us, as I am to him. Ruby just looks over my shoulder then at me. "Uh...what was the part about remaining stealthy?"

"It's the Shadow Hunter!" All guns are pointing at me. "Kill him!"

With quick thinking, I shift into Sentinel and then use Vendetta. The soldiers shoot all their guns are me. Ruby gasps at me being shot at, then realizes I'm still alive, and turning red as the Sentinel ability shields me. Turning all the damage I'm suffering into energy I can use to fight back.

"Take them down!" I ordered.

Ruby positions her weapon and shoots, using the recoil to launch herself over me and towards the PSICOM troopers. The soldiers are surprised and startled by a little girl leaping at them with a scythe in her hands. Ruby slashes down her enemies using her speed and agility.

"This child's fast! Bring in the Paladin!" The second the last trooper is down, a heavily full armed war machine comes in. Ruby gasps in shock at the full scale monstrous size of the machine. She does not take action, for the size and army has frozen poor Ruby.

The Paladin has a missile arm locked and loaded on Ruby. Just as it's about to fire, that's when I strike, using the counterattack of Vendetta. Since I took a ton of hits, my power is immense. Take the war machine down with one punch in a mix of strength, including bravery, and speed.

The paladin blasts a hole to the next car. The PSICOM soldiers are all shocked, some of them get swept away by the impact. The remaining soldiers look ahead to see Ruby and I coming in. This time, I pull out my swords, showing I'm ready for combat.

Ruby and I both fight our way through the soldiers in the next car. We were fast and powerful, with Ruby's agility and weapon and my l'Cie power. In the end, we finish off the last trooper by shooting him through the door to the next car.

I take a look in the next car to see nothing but crates and stored guns. "No more troopers." I return to the car, take one of the bombs from the supplies. "Move up to the next car. I'll set the charges here."

Ruby seems concern as I attach the bomb to one of the crates. All these beautiful weapons, going to be destroyed. It's madness for little red. I set the timer. We only have one minute before the train explodes. With the bomb set, we make our way to the last car. I disable the cable, disconnecting the boxes. They start to slow down as the engine pulls this last one. Once we're about twenty feet away, the boxcars and all of the weapons inside explodes.

"Okay...so. What now?" Ruby asks.

"We find out where this train goes to. With any luck...it'll lead us straight to Rufus." I say.

I want to hope this train will lead us straight to the Abduction Agency, but Rufus is not that foolish. My only chance is that he will be at the location where the train is departing the shipment.

The train arrives at an abandoned city just outside of the city. An army of soldiers, not from PSICOM, waits by the tracks. The train arrives, only Shadow is not happy. "One car? What happened here?"

"It is the final shipment, sir. Perhaps this is it?" The soldier asks.

Shadow sees his point, but that doesn't keep him calm. "Weapons ready."

Guns are locked and loaded. Shadow slowly grabs the door handle and quickly slides it hope. All guns aiming point at...nothing. Shadow walks inside, shining a flashlight. He's disappointed to see nothing.

"Bah! Where is the shipment!" Shadow says.

They search in the boxcar for anything or anyone. What they don't know is that I'm braced by the support beams on the roof of the boxcar. Ruby is right next to me, only she's just holding onto one of the angle beams connected to the roof and wall.

I look at Ruby, who is looking at me for an answer. I put a finger on my puckered lips, and she nods. I put my right hand on my left shoulder, summoning my l'Cie crystal. I drop it, didn't make enough sound to get noticed thank goodness, and then I send one of throwing stars at it.

The crystal shatters and it unleashes all of it's powerful energy. "What was that?" They turn their attentions to the source and they are horrified at what's in store.

The other soldiers outside are worried when they hear screaming from the inside, an then Shadow and all the soldiers are blasted right out. The next thing that comes out is Omega Weapon, who roars in fierce.

"Eidolon!"

All the soldiers attack the eidolon, and Omega Weapon fights back. Omega Weapon handles the fight very well while Ruby and I disappear from the fight. We watch the fight from the ticket booth, which is mostly destroyed.

"No sign of Rufus..." I say.

"Well. That bites...At least we stop the shipment." Ruby says.

"Maybe so...but that doesn't make up for not finding Rufus." I say.

As the battle between humans and Eidolon goes on, Ruby and I leave.

* * *

While I'm on my mission, Chantal and Sky are going out together once again. It's around noon and they decided to have lunch together at a restaurant. The Bella Notte where I met Don.

"I hear this place is the best in the city." Sky says.

"So have I." Chantal answers.

As they go in, Ruby and I are walking down the streets. Only I did not notice Sky and Chantal since we're arriving from the corner on the opposite side of the street as they were.

"Maybe we should visit that Don guy you and Yang met." Ruby says.

"If he were any more useful, I would have gone to him already." I say. I'd like to say it's true, but after the terror Violet implanted on him, I doubt he's really keeping secrets. It's slim, but still doubt. "Let's just pick up some lunch for everyone and figure out a plan."

Chantal and Sky take their seats. Ruby and I walk right in the restaurant and approach the counter. Neither of us notices each other. As I place the order for me and the rest of team Burn, Chantal and Sky tells the waiter their order and now they wait.

However, Sky gets up. "I'll be back. Need to freshen up."

Now Chantal is alone. She's not worried at all, but she will be as soon as some stranger takes notice of her, and he is amused. The man is in black hair that goes down his shoulders. He's not very attractive, and also has a beard.

He puts his hand on the table, giving Chantal his charming look. "Well. Hello there, sweet thing."

Chantal feels a bit unease, but she hides it behind her greetful expression. "Hello...?"

Our order is placed and now Ruby and I wait. I take a look at the decorations on the walls behind the counter while Ruby looks at my quiver with an excited look. She then puts a fingertip on the hilt of one of the blades. She's really in love with the Bowswords. What caught my attention the most is the mirror. There, I manage to spot Chantal. I'm surprised to see her here, but what surprises me most is that she's with someone other then Sky.

I know there's no why she came here alone, but the way she's looking uncomfortable and the man looking amused, I've got a bad feeling about this.

I take the earpiece out of my pocket, put and turn it on. I listen closely at what's happening with the bug I planted in Chantal's bag.

"I'm Jenner." Jenner says.

"Chantal." From her tone, she defiantly sounds a bit worried. I can tell she's trying to hide it.

"So. What's a hot stuff like you doing here all alone." The man says. Hearing that has me on alert, even shot my eyes open. He's not one of them, is he? I keep listening.

"I'm on a date. With a friend." Chantal says.

"Well...I don't see him anywhere." I see Jenner sliding close to Chantal in the reflection.

"H-he'll be back." Chantal says, getting uncomfortable. Right now, I wish I could pull him away and tell him to leave Chantal alone, but I wait. I can't interfere unless it's a serious matter.

"Well, hot stuff. How about you and I go for a walk for a while?" Jenner says. "Or, better yet, my friends and I are going to this club tonight. It would be embarrassing if I were the only one without a sexy date."

Hearing the club part has me concern. Not to heavily from the start. After calling Chantal 'Sexy', that has my suspiciousions high that he could be follower of the Abduction Agency.

"I uh...appreciate the offer. But I'm already spoken for." Chantal says.

Jenner doesn't listen. And he gets too close to Chantal. Soon enough, she's yelling for him to leave her alone. In the reflection, I see he's about to touch her in an unpleasure area. I grab the hilt of one of my swords, but I freeze as soon as I see Sky come within the reflection.

Sky grabs the mans wrist, earning his attention. "Let. Her. Alone." He says with a hostile tone. Even his eyes glow burning red and his fangs are starting to show. He's about to enter demonic form, but keeps it contained.

Knowing he does not want to mess with Sky, Jenner gets up and leaves the table. Allowing Sky to set back down. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm all right." Chantal says.

Hearing that, I know she's fine and I remove the earpiece. I have my eyes set on the man. He's alone at the table, and his meal arrives. I give an angered look. He likes 'hot stuff', huh? I'll give him hot stuff.

I tab Ruby on the shoulder. She looks at me a bit startled. I point my thumb over my shoulder and mouthed 'Distract him'. Ruby looks at the man I pointed at then she nods.

She walks up to him. "Uh, excuse me?" Before he takes his first bite on the meal, he looks at Ruby. "I'm a little lost. Would you mind giving me some directions?"

The man seems charmed by Ruby. She's not at a pretty age, but that doesn't stop him. "Why sure thing, red."

The man gets up and takes Ruby outside. I'm not worried, I know she's capable of taking care of herself. I just hope Yang doesn't hear about this.

Finally, my order arrives. Four bags. I grab them, pay the casher then make my leave. However, once I'm beside the table Jenner is on, I stopped and set the bags down. I take out a jar, twist the lid off. I sprinkle some of my 'special seasoning' in the meal, and then in the drink. Luckily it's not water otherwise it'll give away the drink's sabotaged.

With that done, I pick up the food then leave.

"Okay. Thank you." Ruby says as the man returns to the restaurant as I leave. Ruby notices all the bag I'm carrying. "Oh? Good lunch is here. Ready to go?"

"Actually...I'm gonna stick around for a while. Mind making the delivery?" I ask, and Ruby nods.

I hand her the bags. Only in an instant, it gets heavy. I even see her legs shaking. She lets out a few struggling noises as she walks away. I hang by the door, waiting for my special guest to leave the building.

"What's with that guy. Do you think he's...one of them?" Sky asks. "You know. Those guys Patrick warned us?"

"He did behave like them, from what I hear. But he didn't seem threatening at all." Chantal says.

They can only hope that Jenner doesn't bother them anymore. "I'm curious to know how you've met Patrick. You two seem pretty close."

Chantal is a bit surprised. Mostly at the part when he said that we are close. "Uh...well, we are good friends. But I wouldn't say we're close." Chantal scratches the back of her head and laughs. Sky thinks it's cute. "Well...you see, in Middle School, I was pretty shy after I was bullied. I couldn't make many friends and you...being with Katryx, I've been a bit down in the dumps."

"Sorry about that." Sky says.

Chantal shook her head. "Oh no. You don't have to apologize. So, I signed up for this Pen Pal program. Funny thing is I end up paired with Patrick. He was very nice. From what I read, he was pretty smart. He even skipped the 8th grade and went straight to Freshman High School."

"Really?" Sky sounds surprise. Can't say I blame him. "He doesn't seem like the smart type. Then again, I'm the one who should talk." Sky straightens his coat, trying to look cool.

That comment made Chantal laugh. "Well, he is. Or, at least he was." She starts to sound upset, in a sorrow way that is. "Month later we've really connected, but then one day he stopped answering. I never knew why and I wanted to find out. Finally, after almost two years, he answered. He told me that his father died in some Cie'th Incident."

"After two years of silence? ...I get he would be upset, but that seems a bit over the hedge." Sky says.

"That's what I thought, but he would never tell me what happened, which is odd cause we would tell each other everything. It must have been pretty bad." Chantal remembers learning about the scars on my arm saying that. "He even dropped out of school and became a Mercenary. It was surprising."

It certainly has surprised Sky.

Finally, their meal arrives. Now they can eat in peace. But that's spoken too soon as someone screams painfully. Everyone looks at the source, which is Jenner screaming after taking a bite of his food.

"OH SWEET MOTHER OF ETRO! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" With no hesitation, he chucks down the entire cup of his drink. Sadly, that was a horrible mistake. After drinking, he feels relieved, then the burning inferno of the sun returns to his mouth, and he screams once again.

Like a bolt of lightning, he rushes out of the restaurant. Everyone watches him with concern as he leaves, but they do not help him out. Jenner jumps into the fountain, splashing all around, earning the attention of all the citizens passing by.

Once the burning sensation leaves his mouth, he lays in the water in relief. "Well, well...well. What have we here?"

Jenner sits up. He looks to see I'm looking down at him, arms crossed. He knows trouble has come. "Oh no."

* * *

Jenner is slammed against the wall.

I brought him back to the hideout for interrogation. I know he's with the Abduction Agency given to how he behaved with Chantal. I'm almost surprised he didn't take the hot seasonings very well, given to the fact he really enjoys 'hot stuff'. Guess my hot stuff is too much for him.

Jenner lays in the corner of his prison, hands cuffed in front. I bend down with a hand over his shoulder on the wall. "You feeling comfortable?"

"No." Jenner says bitterly.

"I've heard everything you said to my little friend back at the restaurant. I know you're with the Abduction Agency. Now we can do this the easy way...or the hard way." I lean close to his face at the second part of the last sentence. "So...start talking. What's this club you were talking about?"

"Forget it. I'll never rat Master Zero out to a back stabbing traitor like you!" He barks at me.

I remain calm, knowing I was expecting that. I stand up straight. "Oh? You want to play that game? All right then. Blaze!" Blaze pays attention to my call. I turn and leave the call as I give him an order. "Interrogate him."

The bars close behind me as I leave. Blaze looks down at Jenner with a hostile look. "As you command, Shadow Hunter." Then he pounds a fist in his hand, crackling his knuckles.

"C-can we just talk about this?" Jenner is nervous. He knows he's in an even worse then a world of pain. He should have gone the easy way.

* * *

 _After getting signed in with the Abduction Agency, I send Rosch the voice message of the slave collar deactivation password. He'll pass it to each Guardian Team that'll invade the Abduction Agency locations to free the enslaved women._

 _Meanwhile, Rosaline, Violet's sister, is in the garden of her house, taking care of the flowers. once she is done, she turns to her own home, only to be taken by an unexpected guest. Once I have her in a blind spot, I assault her with chloroform in the rag I put over her mouth and nose. She put up a struggle as I hold her tight, waiting for the chemical to kick in and send her to unconsciousness._

 _It's been over a week and Rosaline here is already my sixth target. I really hate this job, and it's worse that I'm going after Rosaline. She's Violet's sister and I've got a beef with that bitch cause of her bullying my friend Chantal. Taking it out on her sister is dishonorable. I should really be taking it out on the one who caused my friends suffering._

 _After I chained her up and stripped her, only down to her undergarments, I load her up in the truck, then the rest of 'my team' head back to the headquarters._

 _"You have done well, Patrick. And in the first week I might add." Rufus says._

 _"I am a fast learner and thinker, sir. Of course, you'd have to be when you're left to fend for yourself at an ill-prepared age." I say._

 _"Well said." Rufus says. "Keep this up, and you'll be assigned to your first slave training."_

 _"Looking forward to it." My words say one thing, but my eyes and slightly covered tone says another._

 _Once I return to my room, it's time for action. I get on my laptop and begin hacking into the organization's computer system. It takes a while, but I've finally got in. Before I begin the work, I check in with the Sanctum._

 _"Yaag Rosch. This is the Mercenary. Is everything all set?" I ask._

 _"Stand by." Rosch turns me off for a moment then turns on the communication with his people. "Attention all Guardian Corps. This is Yaag Rosch director of PSICOM. The Mercenary is in place. I repeat. The Mercenary is in place. Check in."_

 _All the soldiers check in._

 _"Sanctum Troop 1 in place."_

 _"Sanctum Troop 2 clear."_

 _"Sanctum Troop 3 in position."_

 _"Sanctum Troop 4 checking in."_

 _"Sanctum Troop 5 suppose to be on vacation!"_

 _The last one checking in was complaining. "Roger that. Stand by for further instructions." Rosch turns on my communication "Everything's in place. You may proceed."_

 _"Copy that." I reply._

 _I get to work on sabotaging the Abduction Agency. The plan is I change the locations to where the women who are brought are being sent to meet their new masters. There are only five teams of soldiers that can be assigned for this mission, so I can only do five at a time. Unless someone is buying more then one slave, then I pin them in the same location._

 _Hours have passed and the Guardian Corps are laying in wait, hidden from enemy sights. "All right. This mission is going to be dangerous. You ready, rookie?" Lieutenant Amodar says._

 _Lightning takes out her Gunblade and cocks it. "As ready as I'll ever be."_

 _Now they wait. At night time, a truck appears. Members of the Abduction Agency come out and they unload two women, who are bound, stripped, gagged. Completely helpless and enslaved._

 _"Oh yea! I can't believe they're paying millions of Gil for prude sluts!"_

 _"Yep! Living the dream, brother." They now stop and wait. They both look to see nobody else is here. "Now where is the buyer?"_

 _As they wait, they are shortly ambushed. The Guardian Corps come out of hiding, aiming their guns at the enemy. "What the? Sanctum!"_

 _All they have to defend themselves with is pistol guns, but they are disarmed when the soldier shoots at them. The soldiers breaks the chains, unbounds the slaves. One of them hands them robes to cover themselves with, and Lightning walks up and plays the recording close to the collars._

 _"Freyja." Rufus says in the record._

 _The collars beep and responded, deactivating._

 _Rosch sends me a message, stating that all of the women were rescued. I small. Everything is going as planned. I return to the hacked computer, going over the listen of women currently in training. Rufus is signing me to training a slave soon. I want to see if there's one who will be helpful to my plan._

 _Eventually, I have found one. Feisty. Tough. A history of well training in martial arts._

 _She's perfect. Once the time has come, I will free her, and she still help me bring down this criminal organization. In the end, I slowly close the laptop._


	5. Paintings and Clubs

**A/N: Looks like Chantal is getting herself into trouble with the Abduction Agency, even if it's just one moron. Nonetheless, she is in no danger with Sky and I looking out for her. Answers are yet to be revealed, and team Burn plans to get those answers.**

* * *

Yang, Ruby, Violet and I are all playing poker while I am waiting for Blaze to finish his interrogation with Jenner. I'm not sure if the Abduction Agency has made any changes due to my 'betrayal' with them. If I'm correct, whatever this clue Jenner mentioned to Chantal might be some kind of secret gathering or hidden hideout for the organization.

Ruby sets her deck of cards. "Straight!"

Yang chuckles, sending Ruby into concern. "Nice move, sis." She sets down her deck. "Full house."

Ruby gasps in horror, then she plants her arms and head in the ground, moaning in depression. "You think you're the victor?" I ask, then I lay down by deck. "Straight Flash." Yang is pretty shocked by my winning hand.

I reach out to take my winnings until... "Na, ah, ah." Violet slams her deck on the table. Revealing... "Royal Flush."

Violet takes her winnings. "How do I know you did not cheat?" I ask her, suspiciously.

Violet looks at me pissed. "You really know how to tick me off, don't you?"

I say nothing else. Hope, Slash and Yuffie are just watching while they are eating their lunch. Yuffie is upset that she can no longer play poker. She's been banned since she's been caught cheating...several hundred times.

Finally, Blaze comes into the room. I notice his appearance. "How is the prisoner?" I ask.

"I think he's about ready to talk." Blaze says.

On that note, I get up from our game and then head to the prison room. When I arrive, Jenner is beaten up pretty good. A black eye, split lip and I think I saw some of his teeth are missing. I look down at him, arms crossed. "Have you thought about what I've said?"

"Yes." Jenner says. He sounds unpleased and hollow. Almost like he just witness something he cares about was taken away.

"Tell me everything." I ordered.

* * *

Chantal and Sky are still continue their date after their lunch. Chantal still feels a bit uncomfortable when she encountered Jenner. But still, nothing is really gonna ruin her date with the guy of her dreams.

"Your friend sure hocked up us on this date." Sky says.

Chantal giggles with some blush on her face. "H-he sure did."

They wonder down the streets of Paris. Sky looks around the town. "So...what do you want to do now?"

Chantal hasn't really thought of much. As they walk, an artist just gazes at the blank canvas in front of him. He is struggling with artist block. Finally, he gives up in frustration. He even grabs the canvas, shouting in rage, jamming his foot through the white board and then slamming it to the ground and stomping it.

Chantal and Sky are both walking right by the artist, and they freeze their footsteps to look down at the strange man in confusion and weirdness. The man is jumping on his canvas and then grabs another one of his canvas's. Just as he's using the new canvas to bang repeatly on the one he's beating up, he notices Chantal and Sky having eyes on him and freezes.

Talk about an awkward situation.

"Uh...I'm not much of an artist, but I'm pretty sure you're suppose to use a brush." Sky says.

"Oh, frere. You are mistaken monsieur. I am suffering artist block and it's really driving me nuts." The artist says. The artist gets a look at Chantal and Sky. Gazing at the young couple, he gasps. "Wait!" Now the two of them seem concern. The way he shouted sounded like he's thinking about something about them. "Sacre bleu! You two! Will you two be my next inspiration?"

Chantal and Sky look at each other, as if wanting an answer, then they look back at the artist. "Uh...I'm not so sure about that."

Now the artist is bagging at the two teenagers. "Oh s'il te plait! I haven't had an inspiration in two months! I'm literally dying! Dying!" He whispers desperately at the last word.

His begging just makes it seem pretty weird and awkward. But Chantal figures it could be a good idea. "Come on, Sky. it could be fun. Besides..." Chantal slightly looks away and gets a little nervous. "I-I...like to make memories." Make memories. Cause a painting is something you make. And on the painting is going to be a memory of them together. Sky doesn't say another word, but Chantal speaks for the both of them. "We would love to."

The artist is excited. "C'est magnifique!"

The artist have Chantal and Sky sitting together in front of the Eiffel Tower. From the start, they were just sitting side by side, which even made Chantal feel a bit flustered. But the artist demands for them to act more like a couple. For an idea, Sky sits closer to Chantal and puts an arm around her shoulder.

Chantal ends up super blushing, partly sweating, and breath rapidly. But she still tries to keep her cool. The last thing she would want in one of her memories, rather it's a photo or a painting, is to look ridiculous.

Looking at the young couple, the artist has found his inspiration and begins painting.

* * *

Jenner has told me everything. There's this club at the western area of the city of Paris. He never told me what's going on, some kind of secret gathering. Whatever it is, I know something bad is going on and I need to find out.

Hope and Yang stand right outside of the bar: Liquor ciel.

Hope is wearing a pair of glasses, and he and Yang are both having ear devices. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hope asks.

"Well, I don't trust Blaze and Slash for this assignment." I say, on my headset, while looking at my laptop. "I can't go in there cause the Abduction Agency will recognize me too much."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Yang asks.

"Defiantly. The glasses Hope are wearing have a miniature camera and audio sensor inside. So I can hear and see everything Hope does." I say.

"I'm still just a kid. Do you really think they'll let a kid into a liquor bar?" Hope asks.

"From what Jenner said, this bar is being under control by the Abduction Agency. If they're as stupid and ignorant as I remember, they'll allow any age as along as they bring a sexy girl with him." Saying that last part gave me a burning sensation. Not just out of hatred of lust, but also because I have a feeling Yang is going to get back at me for this. They don't call her 'Beauty Burn' for nothing.

Hope looks at Yang, a bit awkward. Yang looks down at Hope, even through she's slightly taller then him. "Just so you know: This does not count as a date." She tells him.

Hope doesn't say anything, but he can probably agree with her since he has his feelings for Chantal. "All right. Go on in. Stay alert. And uh...keep your eyes off the stage."

Hope and Yang goes right in. "Why off the stage?"

Just as they walk in, Hope and Yang both got their answer. And, honestly, Hope wishes he had not. On stage are women, doing some dancing in very little clothing. Even all the guys, either dunk heads or sober morons, are cheering, whistling and howling.

"Nevermind. Found my answer." Hope says, in a tone that makes it sound like he's paralyzed.

"Yeah. I've noticed." I say in a disappointed tone, cause I saw that little event too.

To save the kid, Yang covers his eyes and pulls him away.

Yang and Hope both take a look around the bar, Hope makes extra sure he does not see the stage. I warned him and he's seen more then enough in one look.

"All right. What are we looking for?" Yang asks in a whisper.

"Anything suspicious. You've been into bars, Yang. You should know something different that'll show a secret meeting." I say.

They look around. Nothing suspicious, for Hope at least since he has no experience in liquor bars. But Yang catches something. Behind the counter, there's a customer standing in front of a curtain doorway. The employee stands in front of him, but the Pervert does a hand gesture. A hand with three fingers out: Index, middle and pinkie. And the ring and thumb closed.

Hand gesture of lust.

The employee rolls eyes side to side, then lets the man in. Yang smiles. "Found something."

Yang drags Hope to behind the bar. The employee stops them, but she does the hand gesture. Hope doesn't, for he does not realize what he's suppose to do. "Do the gesture!" Hope realizes it and does the gesture. On that note, the employee lets them in. "We will not speak of this lesson to Lightning." I warn Hope.

"Agreed." Hope says, cause he'll even just as dead as I will be if she ever found out.

The back entry leads them to the second floor. The room is just as big as the first floor, and it's crowded with several men. This clearly looks like a gathering. "Good work, Yang." I say.

"What now?" Hope asks.

"We wait and listen." I say. "Just...try to blend in. But not too much." The second part of the sentence, I speak with haste.

* * *

Chantal and Sky have been sitting for hours. Chantal got a bit too use to this position, been in it for long enough, that her flustered nerves have died away. Sky is also feeling a bit uncomfortable. Starting to get cramps even. They are starting to wonder how much longer this is going to take, and that's saying a lot coming from the fact that Chantal doesn't want her time with Sky to end.

It's already nearly nightfall. Finally, it's done. "Fini!"

Chantal and Sky are both relieved it's finally finished.

They finally stand up, their muscles tight from hours of stillness. Once they have regain their strength, they take a look at the painting. Those two sitting close together, side by side, with the Eiffel Tower in their background, along with the whole scenery within the artist vision surrounding the two couple.

"It's beautiful." Chantal says. "May we please have it as a souvenir?"

"Oui. I'll print another one and have it sent to your lounges, Mademoiselle." The artist says.

Chantal and Sky continue looking around. Soon enough, they notice how late it is. They even start to get a little hungry. "How much time has passed?" Sky asks.

Chantal looks at the clock on her phone. "A couple of hours." She says a bit surprised. For an artist, he sure is a slow printer. Guess the saying goes you can't rush art, or perfection. Either way, it sure seems true. "Wh-where do you want to go to eat?"

Sky thinks for a moment. "I actually got a better idea."

Chantal isn't sure how to feel about this. Excited. Flustered. Nervous. None of them in a bad way, only cause of her shyness and crush on Sky.

Meanwhile, the gathering is about to begin. Cain takes the stage and both Yang and Hope pay close attention. Even Hope keeps his eyes on the stage for me to see clearly.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight!" Cain says. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce you to our leader! The man who organization this agency for twenty years, and restored it after it's downfall three years ago: Rufus Zero!"

Everyone cheers, Hope and Yang are both surprised. "This is it. What do we do?" Hope asks.

"Lay low. Remember: Rufus is very dangerous. Do not engage in combat." I warn them.

A man in metal armor takes the stage. It was none other then Rufus. "Is that him?" Hope asks.

"Most likely." I say. I look at the mask he's wearing. Why is the masking he is wearing the face of Bhunivelze? I've never met that Fal'Cie in person, but I have dealt with a nightmare version of him when Lightning and I got stuck into Noel's Eternal Nightmare. From what I've learned, Bhunivelze was once a Grand Fal'Cie. Supreme leader of all Fal'Cie before Cocoon was created. But he betrayed the order of the Goddess by turning Yeul into a l'Cie to create Cocoon.

Rufus Zero is wearing a mask of the very monster who wanted to become a God. That is pretty suspicious.

"Nice mask." Yang says, sarcastically. "What's with the red eye?"

"Either it's part of the mask, or it's still bloody when I shot his eye out." I say. "Be quiet. We need to listen."

Rufus holds his hands out, and the crowd dies down. "Thank you. As you may have heard, I am Rufus Zero. Leader of the Abduction Agency. First of all, I must apologize for covering my identity. It's not really because the military unit is after us, but a...different reason. As you may all have known, my organization has suffered a major downfall. All because of one, backstabbing traitor."

Rufus snaps his fingers and a flag rolls down hanging on the wall, revealing a large picture of me. "The Shadow Hunter, Patrick." The crowd mutters, some wondering, other thinking it's unpleasant.

"I can see you're pretty famous here." Yang jokes in a whisper.

"Not the time for jokes." I say in the ear piece.

"Patrick here was once our honorable bother, but in truth: He's a traitor. He had us bankrupted. Sabotaged our deliveries. Arrest many most of my men. Took away everything I had...including my face." The whole crowd gasps at the very mention of his face taken away. "I've been forced to hide behind a mask every since. During our final battle, I was left for dead. Up until a God has resurrected me from the dead."

There's a lot of confused muttered. Hope and Yang are the ones most confused. "A God? What's he talking about?" Hope asks.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that's something Yeul should be wondering." I say. I have a feeling he's not talking about the Maker or the Savior, or even Etro.

"Many of you are probably confused at what I'm saying, but it's the truth. The Shadow Hunter and the Guardian Corps thought they had defeated me, but they are mistaken. To prove our defiance against their law and order, my men have planted an atomic bomb on Notra Dame!" Hope, Yang and I are all in horrible shock hearing that. "The very heart and soul of Paris. When it goes off, it'll wipe out the entire city! And part of Belgium. With the whole city wiped out, the government will learn we are the strong ones! And they will be wiped out from the face of the Earth!"

The whole crowd cheers, all except for Yang and Hope. "This is bad, this is very bad." Hope says.

"Agreed. We have to disarm that bomb before it's too late." I say. As the crowd cheer, Rufus searches the crowd. I take notice one he has his eyes set on Hope and Yang, then he calls over the Cain. Cain looks at Rufus's direction and he seems upset. "You've been spotted! Get out of there quickly!"

They are in trouble. They'll need to act quickly.

* * *

 _Two and a half weeks I have been doing this._

 _One thing I must admit is that Rosaline is one of the weirdest slaves I have ever met in this prison of lust. Normally, when the women are being trained to become sex slaves, I hear cries of plead and torture. But from her, nothing. Then I found out way:_

 _Her trainer has a beard. From what I've heard, during her entire processing all she's been doing is obsessing over the man's beard. I now wonder how she's even Violet's sister._

 _I've made a ton of money with the dozens of women I have captured in the past two weeks. I am not proud, but I make up for it in freeing the captive ones. The Guardian Corps have already rescued over twenty slaves I have sent them. From what Rosch mentioned, those he have rescued have suffered physical and mental pain. Few of them have lost their minds out of fear and insanity. That's to be expected, just makes my hatred for the Perverts burn even further._

 _Today, I have been assigned to train my own personal slave. Cain make sure of it. They assigned me to one, but I made my own choice. The slave I have chosen is Cain's. Rufus and Cain both think she is too stubborn and rebellious for a newbie like me to handle, but I demand it._

 _"If you're sure you are ready for handle this one. But I must warn you: She is stubborn and she also bites pretty hard." Cain warns me._

 _"Thanks for the warning, but I can manage one little girl." I say._

 _"You've got moxie, I'll admit." Cain says._

 _Cain takes me to the slave room of SP-129.14. In other words: Yang Sho-Long._

 _The doors are sealed shout and I can still hear her shouts of pain. Sounds like she's going though either intense training or tormenting punishment. I did hear she's quite a stubborn fighter. It's good to know there are still people trying to fight back, even with the strongest of chains bounding their will and hopes._

 _Cain takes me inside, and there I see Yang. Arms and legs spread. No clothing at all. Whipped while also mechanically raped. A 14 year old going through such torture. A very unpleasant sight for me. Yang's eyes a squint, glaring at the both of us. For Cain I understand, but she shares her hatred of Perverts towards me. She believes I'm one of them._

 _"Good luck training her." Cain turns and walks away. "You're gonna need it." Then the door closes._

 _Once we are both alone, I carefully, slowly turn the training and torture machines off. Not slowly out of the pleasant of suffering, but out of caution. If an Abduction Agency member suddenly came in, I would be caught for trying to free a slave. But I can't go that far since Yang is wearing a slave collar, one which I cannot deactivate. At least not yet._

 _Even though I'm giving Yang a break, she still has to play the part as the slave._

 _The second I set her free, Yang drops to her hands and knees. "There's not much time to explain-" Suddenly, Yang gets a hard grip on my throat._

 _Yang looks up at me, glaring in anger. in her eyes, I can see all that suffering, despair and torture is all combining. Turning into anger. Burning with rage. "You just made a grave mistake letting me loose!" Yang says. I struggle as my throat tightens in her fist. She's surprising strong for a 14 year old. "You have a choice. Either free or...I strangle you to death!"_

 _Her hair burns in flaming gold as her eyes turn red. Unless she's a special type of l'Cie, I have no idea how that's possible. Especially her strength. Words struggle to escape my mouth and throat. "S-s...stop! I'm...I'm not...one of...them...please...Be...live...me!"_

 _The lights start to go out in my eyes. With a soft growl, Yang releases me, and I fall on my hands and knees, coughing and gasping for oxygen. After recovering, I clear my throat and get back on my feet. "Thank you." I grab a folded bedroom robe I had hidden in my vest. I hand it to Yang. I'm hoping she'll see me giving her something to cover her forced nudity as a sign of trust. "As I was trying to tell you, I am nothing like those animals who took you. My name is Patrick. And I am here undercover to destroy this criminal organization."_

 _"Why should I trust you?" Yang asks, suspiciously._

 _"I can understand your doubt. I have no proof to show you are the moment. But you are just going have to trust me." Yang doesn't say anything, but I continue on. "I have a plan to destroy this Organization. Once we get to the final phase, I'm going to need inside help."_

 _"We?" Yang asks._

 _"The Guardian Corps are in with me on the plan. As the Agencies are delivering the slaves to the buyers, I hack into the system and change the locations of the meeting destinations, to where the military soldiers are laying in wait." I say._

 _Yang does not say anything. She just thinks carefully. Finally, she speaks. "I'm listening..."_

 _Rufus is in his office. He's feeling upset. While he remains unaware of what's really going on, he notices that none of his men never returned from their deliveries. And nearly half of the buyers called to complain their slaves not arriving. Rufus figured they have gotten lost or the slaves somehow escaped. Either way, he's not happy._

 _However, he got his answer of what's happened._

 _"Guardian Corps?" Rufus asks._

 _Shadow, who was the only person that made it out of the ambush on his team's delivery, explains everything to Rufus that's happen. "Yes. Yes, sir. We have reached our destination. But then, out of no where, we were ambushed by soldiers. None of us show it coming."_

 _"How is this possible?" Rufus asks._

 _Cain realizes something. "You don't think this happened to the others?"_

 _"It is uncertain, but it seems accurate." Rufus says. "But they're fools. The slaves are still in their collars, and they cannot be broken or removed."_

 _"I'm not too sure about that." Shadow says. "While I was fighting, I was close to the slave, guarding it. They took out a recording of you saying the deactivation code near the collar, and it freed them."_

 _Rufus is astonished seeing that. "Impossible! ...Unless..."_

 _"There's a rat among us." Cain says._


	6. Bombs and River Cruises

**A/N: A bomb? IN NOTRA DAME! Oh no! They wouldn't dare. No one's THAT evil! Wipe out all of Paris and part of Belgium? Luckily I'm from the US, but I'm now worried about Dagga19 and SnowEmbrace...Italy is neighbors of Paris, right? I've never been good with geography.**

* * *

"STOP THEM!"

Yang breaks through the window with Hope following her. They land on the streets and make a run for it. Rufus, Cain and Shadow all stand by the broken window, watching them make their escape. From the bar and nearby building, agents of the Abduction Agency, soldiers and members in the Paladin machines, chase after them.

"They know about the bomb." Shadow says.

"What should we do, Master Zero?" Cain asks.

"It's most likely they'll try and stop it." Rufus says. "Get everyone into the safe rooms, and then guard the bomb."

Cain and Shadow are both in shock by the order. "Guard the bomb? ...But sir. I-If we do that, we will be wiped out along with the rest of the city."

Rufus is not happy b that kind of back talk. He grabs Cain by the collar, holds him close so one of his metal suit blades are at his throat. "Either you die by that bomb or die by my hand!" He threats. Even though he can only show his threat by his aggressive tone and one eye, it's pretty scary like facing your worst nightmare.

Cain swallows hard before answering. "I-I understand...master."

Yang and Hope both run for their lives, even with the aid of Hope's Haste spell. The army of Abduction Agency chases after them.

"Patrick! We could use the calvary!" Hope says.

"Don't worry! We're ready! Just stick to the plan!" I say. I remove the headset and close my laptop, then I turn to Ruby, Hamato and Blaze. "They're heading our way. Arm yourselves." They each nod and ready their weapons. I get ready as well.

I take out my Sniper Bow, get on one knee and foot as I aim it for the bridge. From there, Yang and Hope are going to lure the enemy into this location from that bridge. I'll shoot at the bridge to either block out most of the army or crush them underneath.

If block out happens, we'll be ready to help Yang and Hope fight off the remaining enemies. Yang and Hope come within sight of my scope. "Here they come. Get ready!" I load my Sniper Bow with one of the Explosive arrows then cock the weapon.

Locked, Loaded and ready to shoot. I now just wait for the opportunity. The army of Abduction Agency comes close. Yang and Hope made it past the bridge, and the army is close. That's when I fire. The arrow hits directly at one of the support beams and explodes. The bridge collapses and blocks the entrance, with some of the armies sealed in, few crushed and the remaining reinforcements locked out.

"Now!" I ordered.

As Yang and Hope fight, the rest of us jump from the building and join the fight. Ruby helps out her sister while I hurry over to Hope and shoot at my enemies. Hamato focuses on the soldiers since his staff doesn't do much affect against the war machines, that leaves Blaze is fighting the Paladin's with his strength and battle axe.

The Abduction Agency fights hard at us as well. At one point, Ruby and I are both surrounded. Ruby uses her speed and agility to fight with her Scythe. I fight with the Dual Blades version of my Bowblades. I catch Hope facing a large Paladin. He seems to have it under control fighting in Ravager using Thunder spells. But behind him, he doesn't notice another Paladin is aiming at him, ready to shoot.

"Hope! Look out!" I trigger a switch at the front end of the hilt, disconnecting the blade from the hilt, but still attached by a metal whip. The blade pierces into the machine arm then I tug on it, redirection the arm away from Hope just as it fired. It end up blasting a hole in the ground.

As I'm pulling on the machine, ruby takes a break from her fight and gasps in excitement as she gazes at the whip of my weapon. "Your weapon is also a whip! This just get better and better!" Then she does some weird breathing noises after the sentence.

I turn to Yang, who is holding off a soldier right behind me. "Your sister's a keeper." I tell her.

One thing I don't understand is how can Ruby get so focused in battle but also get distracted by awesome weaponry at the same time, and become a successful fighter under between the two. Blaze brings down the one Paladin he's facing, and Hamato finishes of his soldiers then they both help Hope against the Paladin he's facing.

"Oh come on. Hit me with your best shot, boys." Yang taunts.

The soldiers are provoked and they make a swing with their swords on Yang, but the girl blocks and jumps back. She laughs in delight. "Oh come on. Is that the best you can-"

Suddenly, Yang stops as she notices something falling before her very eyes. A single string of her golden hair. Fixated like the very sight of it completely shuts her down. And she locks her eyes on it under it rests right in front of her feet.

Uh oh. They shouldn't have done that.

"You..." She clings her fists, and her hair burns on fire as she explodes like an inferno. "YOU MONSTERS!"

Cocking her knuckle guns, she bolts at them like at the speed of light, even the soldiers are pretty terrified at the infernal rage Yang. Just the second Yang makes contact, she beats the living day lights out of her enemies. No, that's actually not enough to describe the pain she's giving them.

If this was a show, this would be one of those moments where the battle can only be seen in the shadowy backgrounds, and the characters that's watching it are pretty scared and horrified, barely watching and looking away.

The soldiers are broken bodied and unconscious on the ground, as they suffer damage from a mix of Yang's strong punches and the bullet shots they make whenever she punches. Under all that, Yang is still beating them up. "YOU WANT SOME MORE!?"

I grab yang by the waist and pull her back. "Okay! Okay, Yang. You've made your point."

Yang calms down as I pull her away from the bodies. "So...what do we do now?" Ruby asks.

"To Notra Dame." I say. "We need to disarm that bomb before the Abduction Agency destroys all of Paris." That said: we hurry on to the cathedral.

* * *

Sky has some plans with Chantal tonight. She knows Sky very well, but she cannot tell if it's something she should be worried or enjoying this event he has planned.

Sky takes the lead, and he walks down the steps, heading to the docks of the Seine. Chantal has a feeling of what this could be. At the docks, Sky reveals a single river boat. Two men are on it, an accordion player and a man who's going to be paddling the boat. Chantal is surprised.

"S-Sky...a cruise...on the Seine?" Chantal asks.

"Yep...I was actually hoping to do with Katryx." Sky looks at his watch. "She should be here any minute."

Chantal is shock to hear that sudden news. "Huh? W-what? Kat? B-but...I, I thought we were..."

Sky laughs slightly then wraps an arm around Chantal, which makes the girl froze up. "Come on, I'm just kidding." All though he's not kidding about wanting to do with this Katryx. "Come on. Let's get on board."

Even after Sky let's go, Chantal is frozen, staring at a thousand yard distance, her face turning pretty red. "O-Okay..." After regaining the feeling in her legs, Chantal climbs aboard on the boat.

The man paddles away while the other one plays the accordion, sometimes sings in French as well. Chantal smiles. She grabs hold of Sky's arm and leans on his shoulder, sighing like she is day dreaming. This event is pretty wonderful for her, and a bit unexpected coming from Sky. He's handsome but not fully known for being romantic.

"This is so romantic." Chantal says.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it." Sky reaches into his pocket. "Because this is just the appetizer for the main event."

Chantal is confused. She doesn't understand what he's talking about. Just as she sees the tickets, she realizes what he means. She gasps. Two tickets for ball happening at a palace. Chantal s pretty speechless. "Tickets? To a ball? Oh my god! This is so unexpected." It's certainly unexpected. Chantal hasn't even picked out a dress for the event.

Sky laughs a little. "Thanks your friend. He really hocked us up."

They have no idea what I had to go through to get this deal.

[Back in Doomstone]

Xever takes a close look at the gemstone. Inspecting it closely through the Loupe. "Dah! Dis indeed vrare Dark Amethyst. I make big fortune off dis."

I stand across from Xever's desk, with a black eye, cuts and bruises. To get that gemstone, I had to venture through the most dangerous place of all Grand Pulse: Ragnarok's Lair. Even as a l'Cie, and at my best as the Shadow Hunter, I still took quite a beating.

I groan as I turn my neck, which causes some cracks in the bones. It stings. "All right, Xever. It's time for you to pay up. You have no idea what I've been through to get that."

Xever looks at me, head to toe. At my damaged body and partly torn clothing. "I can only imagine. But, deal is deal." Xever takes out two tickets to the ball in Paris. "No idea vhy you need dis. Is in Paris, and you have no ladyfriend."

I take the tickets. "Don't rub it in."

[Flashback ends]

"Knowing all those crazy deals he makes with underground business men, I can't imagine." Chantal jokes.

Sky laughs as well. If only they knew what I went through, they won't be laughing. "Well, enough small talk. Time to eat." In front of them is a tray with a dome cover on it. Sky removes it, revealing a plate of spaghetti in it.

Uh no. Two of them. One plate of spaghetti. Can anyone predict what might happening? (Especially you Snowy... *Nudges your arm with my elbow*)

Chantal's glad. She's getting hungry anyways.

Having dinner on a river cruise with the love of her life, while an accordionist is playing a romantic song for them. Can it get any better for the shy little girl? It can. As they both eat, they stuck on their spaghettis until, not even paying attention, they run out of the one noodle, and they're both eating both ends. The line gets shorter until...their lips meet.

They both realize what just happened, and Chantal turns into 17 different shades of red in the face.

They've been Lady and the Tramped.

* * *

On Notra Dame, a large nuclear bomb takes place. The scientist is setting everything, but then becomes startled when the bells ring. The bell tower are literally right in front of him, which makes the sound mostly deafening. The bell rings nine o'clock.

"Grrr. I hate those bells!" The scientist says, then gets back to work.

The soldier stands next to him, keeping an eye out. "Just keep working. And how long until the bomb is detonated?"

The scientist puts the finishing touches and the bomb activates. "Five minutes. That'll give us enough time to get to one of the safe houses. Let's get out of here."

The members of the Abduction Agency makes a run for it. I watch everything from the top of a building 1000 meters from the ancient church, through the scope of my Sniper Bow. "All clear." I say through the headset.

Yang, Hope, Violet and Hamato come out of hiding right below of the roof of Notra Dame. They all see the bomb. "Oh boy, that's a big bomb." Hamato says.

Yang gives Hope a pat on the shoulder. "All right, do your thing Hope."

Violet feels disgusted at the thought of 'hope's thing'. Being a nerd. Hope opens the power box, only he is surprised. "Uh oh."

Everyone looks inside, noticing all the complicated wires and tech. "'Uh-oh'? Hope. You said you know how to do this." Yang says.

"I didn't count on a design this complex, Yang." Hope says.

"It doesn't matter. Just disarm it before it wipe us all out." I bark through the ear device, which sent everyone flinching from the sudden burst in their ears.

Hope is pretty nervous. He hardly has no idea how to work this. This kind of technology is beyond his knowledge. At a certain angle, I take a look at what's inside of the power box. I've only taken advanced computer aid for over six months but I know this is something I've never heard of.

Where are the Abduction Agency getting this kind of stuff? A minute and a half has already passed and Hope is still trying to figure this out. "Hope. You're going have to speed this up." Yang says.

"I cannot work with all this pressure!" Hope snaps.

He takes a deep breath to let the stress out, but things get worse when a trident was thrown, missed team Burn by a few inches. Yang looks up and she is a bit worried. "Uh...that might be a problem."

Everyone looks up. On one of the towers, Cain and Shadow stands. They jump down, landing on the same level. Yang, Violet and Hamato are on their feet, ready to fight. Yang glares aggressively at Cain, cracks her knuckles even. Cain grins as he looks at Yang. "Hello...Prude."

Yang growls, on that note, they engage in combat. Yang faces head on with Cain, which grabs his trident then battles Yang, while Violet and Hamato handles Shadow, who fights with his fists and feet. I watch the whole fight through the scope. I can't give away my position.

Violet blocks most of Shadows attacks under she switches with Hamato. "Would you hurry up and defuse the bomb?" Violet shouts in aggression. "We're dealing with a couple of morons over here."

Hamato spins his staff as a defensive technique. Everytime Shadow strikes, he blocks. As Shadow focuses on Hamato, Violet attacks from behind.

Yang is fighting hard against her former master. She fights with her fists, but Cain dodges, and sometimes blocks with his trident. "You were better off as my little slave, Xiao Long. It's what you were made to do!"

Yang growls. When Cain jabs his trident, she grabs it, holding Cain in place, then she kicks him hard in the face. Cain staggers back, lets go of his weapon as well. He puts his hands on his face, right on the jaw where Yang kicked him hard. Yang plants the lance on the ground.

"I'm gonna break your face, after everything you have done to me!" Yang says in a hostile tone.

Cain growls, then spits. He resumes his battle against Yang. Violet gets knocked back, near the edge. Shadow is right on top of her, he punches but Violet barely dodges. He ends up hitting the stone roof. Violet grabs his arms, using her vampire strength to hold him.

"Say. You're pretty sexy. How about being my slave?" Shadow says, all charmingly. Violet leaps her head forward and viciously bites. Barely missing Shadow. "Whoa. Somebody's a biter...I like it."

Violet can't help but get aggressive. She kicks him hard in his sensible area. Shadow yelps loudly, then she knocks him off of his feet. With a hiss, she leaps on Shadow.

15 seconds remain, and Hope is down to two wires. But he doesn't know which one to cut. He nervously holds the scissors over the black wire, watching the final countdown.

10\. 9. 8. 7.

His hand shakes as he thinks about what's going to happen if this is the wrong wire to cut. Ka-boom! It's all over.

5\. 4. 3...

Closing his eyes and looking away.

2\. 1...

He cuts the wire.

Hope expects a major explosion that would end his live and all of Paris. But nothing happens. He looks. The countdown freezes on the final second. Let releases his breath, which he did not realize he was holding. With the bomb down, he helps his team in combat. Yang seems to have everything under control, so he helps Violet and Hamato with Shadow.

Hamato blocks then jabs, only to be dodged and kicked in the face. Now it's just Shadow and Violet. Or so thought. Hope unleashes a Blizzaga spell on Shadow, freezing him solid. Violet's not happy being saved by a kid, a nerd at that matter.

Cain strikes at Yang, knocking her back. Hope throws his boomerang at him. Cain notices it coming and dodges, then he jumps on Hope. He has the kid pin down, his neck caught in between the blades of the trident. "Isn't it past your bedtime, junior?" He asks, then soon gets hit in behind the back by the boomerang as it flies back.

Cain groans in irritation, then Yang kicks him right off of Hope.

Cain notices his frozen partner. "Shadow!" Then turns at team Burn. Four of them against one of him. "This is not over!" Cain grabs Shadow and makes a run for it. I watch everything and I am proud.

"Mission accomplished." I say.

Everyone cheers in victory. They have defeated the enemy before they could destroy the city. They saved the city, that's a bonus. Everything's going pretty well.

Until...

"Your skills are impressive!" Everyone freezes and turns. Right on top of the bomb, Rufus Zero stands, blocking the light of the moon shadowing his dark body. Rufus jumps down, landing on the roof. "But they will not save you!"

I look and notice Rufus, and I am afraid. "Get out of there, now." I tell them.

None of them listen, they just stand frozen. Or in Violet's case, in Arrogant Ignorance. "You don't look to tough!" She say as she cracks her neck and knuckles. Rufus readies himself for combat as well, summoning steel claws and various knifes from his suit.

They both fight. Violet attacks, but Rufus blocks them all. He makes his first strike, but Violet dodges them. She's pretty fast with her vampire speed. That's when Rufus needs to step it up. He shifts into Voodoo, casting Loa's Power on himself, granting him immense strength and incredible speed. He shifts back into Dark Paladin, and strikes Violet with powerful fast blows. Even faster then she can dodge.

Violet makes her strike, making Rufus shift into Black Knight to guard with Vengeance. The second Violet hits him, the black magic protecting Rufus causes pain to run through her fist and arm. Violet wails in pain. While she's staggered, Rufus counterattacks, which its power is tenfold from Violet's strike, and sends her flying into an electric hotel sign.

"Violet!" Yang shouts. Violet shouts in agony as the megavolts electrocute her.

Shifting back into Dark Paladin, Rufus attacks at the remaining team. Hope and Hamato jumps out of the way, Yang on dodges. Yang is now fighting Rufus head on. Yang focuses on blocking, knowing how dangerously strong Rufus is. But he's also fast.

In the end, his final strike is using his knifes, which cuts off locks of her hair and scratches on her cheek. Seeing her fallen hair, Yang enters berserk mode, which does not help her. Rufus quickly shifts into Black Knight and activates Vengeance.

Even under the powerful blows she's putting on Rufus, the pain is not enough to snap her out of her trance. Finally, the pain becomes overwhelming and she's exhausted. Rufus counterattacks by grabbing her and them slamming her to the ground, so hard it causes a massive crack on the stone, making the shards jump by a few inches, then he kicks her away.

"Yang!" Hamato hurries to her side, she's knocked out. Now it's Hamato's turn. He spins his staff and strikes. Rufus dodges each of them then Hamato goes for a jab. That's a mistake. Rufus grabs the staff, poke the other end at his face several times, then pulls and sweep kicks Hamato right in the face.

A boomerang comes flying. Not even seeing it, Rufus can hear it coming. He grabs it before it even hits him, then snaps it in half. He turns to see it's Hope. The kid laughs nervously. Rufus shifts into Warlock, then summons a massive ball of fire at Hope. It explodes and Hope gets blasted back. As he did, he casts ice shards at Rufus, who blocks them with his wrist armor.

I am seeing the whole fight, and I'm horrified. Rufus is far more dangerous then I feared. Not only he is power. "He's...he's a l'Cie!? But that's impossible."

Rufus approaches Yang, lifts her with one hand. Yang starts to regain conscious, only to see a metal man drawing out blades from his suit. Just before he gets the chance to attack, Hamato strikes him from behind. He staff broke from the impact. Rufus didn't feel the pain, but he does notice and grabs Hamato and tosses him to Yang.

Hope climbs back up on the roof to see the fight is not going too well. He attacks in Commando, sending several Ruins at Rufus. Rufus sees it coming and cast Agony, a dark version of the non-elemental pearl spell. Agony is more powerful then Ruin. Breaks through the spells and hits Hope.

The kid falls on his knees as he suffers the damage. Rufus rushes to Hope, attacks him hard, ending with Hope tossed and smashed to the ground. Rufus pulls his blade back, then is greeted by Violet jumping on his back. Before he gets a chance to do anything, she starts beating him up with all of her strength.

"Nobody! Beats up! Nerds! Except! ME!" Violet shouts in a aggressive tone.

Her punches do little pain for Rufus for his metal armor protects him from the blows. He recovers quickly then grabs Violet and pulls her off of him. He slams her on the ground then, with a sweep kick, tosses her towards Hope, knocking the two back with the rest of team Burn.

My team is in trouble. I have to do something.

Yang and her team gets back up on their feet. They look to see Rufus standing before them. Even beaten, bruised and in cuts, they still make their stance for combat. Shouting in rage, Rufus summons all of his knife and blades and they all attack with their final stand.

One-by-one, team Burn falls by Rufus's power. Violet. Hope. Hamato. Now it's just down to Yang and Rufus, but she falls quickly. Yang falls on her hands and knees. Rufus turns her on her back and stabs his wrist blades on her neck, both of them trapping her neck in between. Yang just glares at him.

"Tell me where that treacherous Patrick is and I will let you live long enough to watch him perish!" Rufus orders. A knife slides out in between the two blades, aiming directly at Yangs neck, only to stop inches away.

My target is locked. But before I pul the trigger, I look up making a silent prayer. "Please forgive me for this." Then I fire.

The explosive arrow hits the base of one of the towers of Notra Dame. The tower comes tumbling down. Rufus looks up, shocked. That's when Yang gets the opportunity. She pulls the blades off and makes a run for it, just as the pile of stone and brick crushes on top of Rufus.

With Rufus occupied I run, leaping from roof top to roof top. I hurry over to Notra Dame and help Yang carry everyone. That's when Rufus starts to dig himself out. Once he is out, Rufus can see that everyone has vanished, and he screams in total frustration.

* * *

Everyone made it back to the hideout. Yang, Violet, Hope and Hamato. Ruby does what she can to heal them up, since Hope is too injured to even heal with his Medic spells. Violet is pretty frustration that she lost a fight. She even uses her remaining strength beating up some dummy.

"You were all very lucky back there." I say. "It appears that Rufus has gotten stronger since we last fought."

"No kidding...He was so fast." Yang says.

"It's like he was everywhere at once." Hope says.

Violet growls, then she plants her butt on a chair, arms crossed. Stubborn. "I hate to admit it...but he's even faster and stronger then me."

"How is that even possible for a l'Cie?" Hope asks.

"I don't know...from what I saw, his power is different from a normal l'Cie." I say. "If only Yeul was here, she might know something about this."

Ruby puts an ice pack on her sisters shoulder. "So...what now?"

I think carefully about this situation. "First things first, you four should rest up. First thing in the morning, will figure something out." I turn and walk away.

Whatever kind of l'Cie Rufus is, this mission is going to be far more dangerous then I thought. I just hope Chantal and Sky will be able to stay out of it.

* * *

 _"HEAT!"_

 _That message is what Rosch receives on his computer. He knows what that means. Though his communicator, he speaks to the fellow Guardian Corps. "There's heat on him."_

 _"What does that mean, sir?" Amodar asks._

 _"He'll be going offline for a while, until he reaches us back." Rosch says._

 _Rufus is on to me. From what I've heard, they have learned that there's a rat among the Abduction Agency. Rufus intends to find out who it is and depose of him. In the meantime, all future deliveries are postponed. There's nothing I can do to help or save the slaves with this heat. I'm gonna have to find some way to throw Rufus off of my scent._

 _I only meet with Yang once every three days for Slave Training, but the Abduction Agency have cancelled my schedule of deliveries and slave training until they find out who's behind the sabotage of work._

 _This gives me the time to do some thinking, and I've come up with a plan._

 _On the next day, Rufus is looking over the monitors of last night's footage, with Cain on his side. On the monitors, hardly anything comes up. Almost as if whoever's doing this is come clever hacker or an invisible ghost. Rufus begins to get frustrated not finding the answers he is seeking._

 _However, Cain spots something. "Sir. Take a look at this."_

 _Rufus looks at the one footage, which is his office. It's midnight and completely empty, until a mysterious man wearing a mask walks right in. Rufus and Cain looks closely on the monitor. The masked man walks in and gets on the computer, doing some work on the system._

 _"A man in a mask?" Cain asks._

 _"That's our target. We find whoever is keeping a mask and mental." Rufus says._

 _Rufus and his elite man have searched each dormitory for the stuff he's seeking. Many of the members are not happy with the Abduction Agency going through their stuff. I know I'm not, and it's not because it was me behind that mask. If anything, it's more of an act._

 _Finally, they found what they were looking for. The mask and mental cape. In the stuff that belongs to Luke. "He's the one! Arrest him!" Rufus orders._

 _"What?" Luke shouts defensively. "You're lying! I didn't do it!" Cain and Shake takes Luke away. "I am innocent!"_

 _I was not their for Luke's execution, but from what I've heard, Rufus has ordered it to be a slow, painful death. You do not mess with Rufus Zero, but I am messing with him...Gravely. Majorly. I sent a message to Rosch, telling them they took the bait and is off my scent._

 _I am back in business._

 _Cain looks over the monitors on Rufus's computer. Just his luck, Rufus walks right in. "What is this, Cain?" He's not happy to see his right hand-man on his desk._

 _"Something's been bugging me, master Zero. Take a look at this." Rufus stands over Cains shoulder, looking at the footages. "In every footage for the week since we heard about the rat, nobody have come in at night to change the delivery location."_

 _"So?" Rufus asks._

 _"If nobody came in during these nights, and how did the destination locations changed?" Cain asks. That's when Rufus starts to get suspicious. I got them off my scent, but they manage to find it once again._


	7. Missing Answers

**A/N: Rufus is indeed a powerful man. He seems like a l'Cie, but he's truly something else. I'm sure you have noticed since he has different roles from a normal l'Cie. Not only that, but Chantal and Sky seem to be having a fun time together. They got Lady and the Tramped with that river cruise event.**

 **Moving on to the next chapter.**

* * *

I can hardly sleep at night. But Hope has no trouble since he's exhausted, of both energy loss and in physical pain from his battle against Rufus. I can't turn my mind off of Rufus's battle. He's a l'Cie...but the power he used, it's nothing like any l'Cie I've ever seen. Even when I faced a fal'Cie, he still had the powers of a l'Cie when in human form.

Rufus...What is he?

It's midnight, so I decided to take a walk. Besides, I need some answers is only one person, The streets of Paris are dark and kind of foggy. Strangely, I find it calmly. Yet the night of Luxerion kind of creeps me out.

I'm about to make my way for the cemetery right outside of Paris, when the sound of some tan cans clattering against each other startles me. By instinct, I jump high, just stand on the lower pole hanging from the building. I look down and I see a shadowy figure coming this direction. I stand straight against the wall, hiding in the shadows.

The figure becomes clear. To my surprise, it's a certain pen pal of mine. "Chantal?" I whispered.

She's certainly dressed for the cold night instead of wearing comfortable pajamas for sleeping in bed. I just watch Chantal walk by under she vanishes from my sight. I jump back to the ground. "What is she doing? Out in the middle of the night?" I ask.

This doesn't seem like Chantal, unless perhaps she could be nervous about something...Okay, this does seem unusual. I decided to follow her, but make sure she does not notice me. One of my trademarks as a Shadow Hunter: Stealth.

I've followed Chantal for about ten minutes, so far she's just walking. I'm not suspicious with that she's doing, but I still have to keep an eye on her. It's midnight and she's alone and completely defenseless. Not to mention the Abduction Agency is around. She'll make easy pray for them.

Just as I feared, she gets snagged into a dark ally.

Chantal didn't see who it was that grabbed her, but she does get a better look once he is on her. "Hello there, hot stuff." Chantal gasps in worry. It's Jenner. "So sorry we were rudely interrupted by that big idiot."

Insulting Sky has make Chantal mad. "His name is Sky and he's not an idiot! If anyone's the idiot, it's you!"

First time Chantal's talked back like that. How surprising. Chantal struggles to break herself free from Jenner's grip. "Frisky. I like that in a girl."

Now Chantal cries out loud. "Help! Somebody help!" It's like she's reliving her past of being bullied. Only instead of taking a beating, she's being sexually harassed.

"Oh, don't deny it. You know you're enjoying this." He puts a hand under her coat, under her shirt. It's about to get ugly.

As luck would have it, Jenner gets shot. Instead of arrows, it's by blades. The blades catch him by the shoulders of his jacket. Jenner is surprised by how he's pinned to the wall. "Wanna bet?" I ask in a hostile tone.

Jenner and Chantal are both surprised by the sight of me in the ally. Chantal is in relieved but Jenner is disappointed. "Oh, not you again!"

I approach towards Jenner. Just as I passed Chantal, she's about to speak, but I hold a hand out telling her to stop. I'm right in front of Jenner, looking him straight in the eye. "How did you escape from our prison?"

Jenner nervously laughs. "Well..."

From what he told me, it was just him and Yuffie back at the hideout, since me and the remaining members of Team Burn were helping out with the wounded from the Rufus fight. We had no other choice but to leave Yuffie in charge of watching over the prisoner. Sadly, she was effected by his stupid charm.

Apparently, he tricked her into teaching him her pickpocket tricks, and while she wasn't even paying attention, he stoled the keycard that'll deactivate the prison bars. Then he knocked her out and made his escape.

I growl in irritation. "And I thought Villiers was the idiot." I say. "Oh what am I saying? He's the king of idiots!" Once I'm done talking to myself, I turn back to Jenner. "You may have escaped, but I'm talking you back in! You owe us some answers!"

"I think not." Jenner takes out a ball of blinding powder. I'm surprised and look in one of my coat pockets. That's mine. "I'm a fast learner, and that pretty Yuffie is a good teacher."

What the heck is he trying to do? Escape or make my sick to my stomach? He crushes the orb in his hand, turning it all into dust, then blows it in my face.

I didn't think about looking away, and I end up getting hit in the eyes. Blinded. I stagger back and wipe the dust away, then rub my eyes. While I'm distracted, Jenner removes his jacket and makes a run for it. Chantal is worried seeing me attacked like that. She tries to help me, but she ends up with me grabbing her and pinning her to the wall.

I stare at her with my bloodshot eyes. Chantal seems nervous, then realizes my situation. "Patrick! It's me! Chantal!"

Hearing that voice, I realize I did grab her. My vision is blurry and clouded.

I release Chantal. "Sorry." I rub my eyes. Getting hit by blinding powder is really an irritating feeling. "Where did Jenner go?"

"He uh...escaped." Chantal says, with some hesitation.

I slam my fist on the brick wall. "Damn it!"

Chantal helps treat my eyes after I got blinded. All she did was pour some water to flush the powder out. It works at the first time but Chantal didn't think it was enough and she pours some more. I yell and pull her hand away stopping her. "Enough, okay!" I sit up back and rub my eyes. "I can see fine now."

That's only mostly true. My vision has cleared enough to be able to see, but not enough for my high keen accuracy. It's probably downgraded during my training years I was shooting from fifty yards.

"S-sorry." Chantal says.

I stand back up on my feet. "Can't believe that crap got away." I look at Chantal in disappointed. "You really shouldn't wonder around the city at night alone. It can be dangerous. Especially with the Abduction Agency around!"

Chantal looks nervous, like a little girl become scolded by her father. "I-I'm sorry."

I sigh, trying to relax. "No, it's...fine. You're just lucky I was around to save you back there." I say. "Just why are you wondering around?"

Chantal nervously rubs her arm. "Well..."

* * *

I take Chantal to an all right bar. I'm not fond with drinking and I doubt Chantal's much of a drinker. But luckily, they don't just serve alcoholic beverages.

"I'll have the hot chocolate, with light cream." I order.

"Oolong tea, please." Chantal says.

Chantal and I are both silent as we wait for our drinks. Chantal seems a bit uncomfortable. It's probably cause of the idiot Jenner, but I have a feeling it's about something else. Knowing her very well, I bet it's about Sky. In a few minutes, our drinks have arrived. After a moment of silence with our beverages, I speak.

"What were you doing in the city at night?" I ask.

Only taking a sip of her tea, she speaks after letting out a sigh. "I just...couldn't sleep." Chantal says. I can't say I'm too surprised. I let her continue to speak before I jump to conclusions. "I-I...sort of..." Chantal's face starts to turn red as she nervously rubs her arm. "S-Sky and I...kissed."

I raised an eyebrow hearing that. "And...that's a bad thing? I'm not big on relationships, but I'm pretty sure that's good."

"N-no...you're right about that. But...I-it's just...he's so gorgeous." Chantal seems a bit lost in her world saying that. I even look a bit confused, even though I know this would happen. "So handsome. Dreamy. Like a prince and I'm his little princess..." Just then, she snaps out of her little fantasy. "Oh! D-did I say that out loud?"

15 seconds. That's sooner then the last time she's done that. "Pretty much." I say.

"Ooooh dear. This is so embarrassing." Chantal says.

I roll my eyes. "How is it? I already know your...huge crush on him. Did you forget it's the main reason I brought you two here?"

"Yes..." Chantal says. "Anyways. It was still shocking. I nearly had a heart attack when our lips meet."

After drinking some of my hot chocolate, I continue to speak. "Well, if it's any consolation, I'm having a hard time on my end of the trip."

Chantal seems concern. "Why? What happened?"

"My team encountered Rufus Zero." Chantal isn't sure how to feel about this. She knows that capturing Rufus is the main reason I came to Paris. I explain more about what has happened. "After we disarmed a bomb they unleashed on Notra Dame, Rufus attacked four of the members of team Burn. Including Hope."

Chantal gasps. "He's...not hurt, is he?"

Chantal may not have feelings for Hope, like he does for her, but she still cares about him. "I wish I could say yes." I say. "But he got hurt pretty bad during the fight. Along with the others who were fighting. He's even more powerful then our last battle." Chantal doesn't say anything afterwards. "The worst part is he's a l'Cie."

Now Chantal is shocked. "A l'Cie? Really?"

"Yes..." I am now unsure about what I say is true. "No...I'm not sure...The way he fights is l'Cie, but his powers are...different. Nothing I've ever seen."

"Well...if it's not l'Cie...what is it?" Chantal asks.

"I wish I knew. If only Yeul is here. She might have some answers." I say.

Chantal and I say anything else for the rest of the night. Can't say I blame her. What I say is indeed speechless. Nothing that makes sense. Not that we can understand.

Whatever Rufus is, I will find the answers to what he is, and how to find and stop him.

* * *

After I take Chantal back to her room, I continue my walk in the dark city. I arrive at the Cemetery, not the same one where the team Burn hideout is, the one that's close to the city.

I arrive alone. May be dangerous, but I can handle myself. I'm always combat ready.

As far as I can see from the fog, there's nobody else around. But I know he's out there. He's probably just in hiding. As I stand alone in the foggy graveyard, I hear the sound of a blade drown out. I roll my eyes to the side, I know that enemy is behind me, with a blade at my spine ready to stab.

"You should know better to never underestimate a l'Cie." With quick acting, I turn and kick the sword right out of his hand. The man is about to attack with his fists, but I draw my swords and point the right one at him. He doesn't attack, but his eyes are fixed on the tip of my sword, which is inches from his heart.

He does not move, nor does think of anything. But I can see that grin on his face. He knows something I don't. Or at least, I didn't. I quickly grab and him turn, holding him right in front of me. At the same time, the second goon jumps in and punches rapidly hard. Not on me, but on his partner.

I'm using him as a human shield.

The second goon realizes he's hitting his comrade. While his guard is down, I spin and toss the first man at him. Now the two lays on the ground, unconscious. As I look down at him, I shout, knowing he's out there watching. "Is this really the best you've got?"

Don comes out of the shadowy fog. He looks down at his goons while he approaches. "I'm never hiring from locals again." He turns to me. "Why have you come here?"

I hold my blade out, pointing directly at Don. "Cause you are gonna give me answers. Starting with Rufus."

"What about him?" Don asks.

"I saw the way he fought against my team." I say. "Tell me: Just what the hell is he?"

Don is silent at first, then he speaks. "I don't know what he is exactly, but I do know that what he has become is a more powerful version of a l'Cie...a l'Sith."

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "l'Cieth?"

"Sith! Not Cie'th." Don says. "I have no idea what they are exactly, but I do know that Rufus is far more dangerous becoming one."

I think carefully in my head. 'l'Sith'...I feel like I've heard of that name before. But it doesn't ring a bell. I could have been something I saw in the catacombs of the Paddra Ruins. Something about l'Sith and Bhunivelze. Those two must have some connection.

What's more is if Rufus is a l'Sith, hen does that mean that Bhunivelze is the "God" who resurrected him? That doesn't make any sense. The fal'Cie is dead. Destroyed just as he had Yeul's power to create Cocoon.

"What is Rufus planning this time?" I ask.

"I don't know. He hardly tells me much. Even since he blames me for your attack at the docks." Don asks.

It pretty much was his fault. He's the one who gave me the information.

Underneath the Eiffel Tower, Rufus and his men are with Jenner. Rufus is disappointed at Jenner for being captured by team Burn, and giving away their meeting. Jenner is even on his hands and knees, bowing for forgiveness.

"You disappoint me, Jenner. You should pay with your life!" Rufus says as the blades with his right arm pop out of the metal wrists.

Jenner is nervous. "M-master Zero! Please! Give me another chance! I-I even have some useful information."

"Is that so?" Rufus asks. "Explain."

Jenner looks up at his leader. "Before and after I was captured, I have found a hotty chick. Late teens. Nice body. Goes by the name Chantal."

"Who is this...Chantal? And why would she useful information?" Rufus asks, curious but in doubt.

"When I was about to have some fun with her, the Shadow Hunter came in and attacked me." Rufus is on alert at the mention of my title. "From the way he attacked and how she reacted to his rescue, they seem pretty close."

"So...you are saying this Chantal might be the key to lead this traitorous snake out of hiding?" Rufus says. "Excellent work, Jenner. I must say I am impressed."

"Th-thank you, master." Jenner says.

"And now..." Hearing that has Jenner nervous. He knows that's not a good thing. Rufus grabs Jenner, lift him off his feet. "I have no further use for you!"

Jenners eyes are wide open as Rufus draws his right arm back with the blades out. "W-w-wait! Master! No!" Then Rufus stabs him right in the stomach. Jenner shouts in agony, then dies as he gasps his final breath. Cain and Shadow are both in shock to see Rufus kill one of his own man. He's a dangerous snake, but killing his own men is like killing his own brother.

Rufus drops Jenner's lifeless body, then turns to his two men. "You two!" They both stand straight, frozen in fear. "Find this girl and bring her to me!"

* * *

 _Two weeks have passed since the Abduction Agency were hot on my trail. I'm just glad I got them off of my scent._

 _Of course I always knew they would be suspicious with my plan to bring them down. At the very least, only wonder where was their men, slaves and money. And never realize that they have all been taken by the Guardian Corps. I even warn Roschs to leave no survivors. By that, I really mean let no member of the criminal organization escape._

 _I've made nearly two years worth of Gil within the month I've worked here. Who know playing double agent was so easy? I can only imagine how much money I'll make once I get my reward from the Guardian Corps._

 _"They still have no idea you're behind all this?" Yang says with a laugh._

 _"Keep it down." I say, when she's laughing too loud. "Remember. They can't hear any sounds of joy." Yang quiets down then zips her lips. As usual, she's just in the bathrobe I gave her. Wish I could give her proper clothing while I'm 'training' her. "No, they have not. But I have a feeling they'll find out soon enough."_

 _Yang gets fired up. "Then we should finish them off, now!"_

 _"Not yet. Their security is still tough, and there are still victims within this...prison." I say. "Just a little longer, when we'll strike."_

 _Yang nods understanding. Just our luck, someone is coming in. In haste, we remove Yang's bathrobe, and just before I get the chance to put her back on the training machine, that is when Cain walks right in. He is suspicious to see Yang is free from the device._

 _"What is going on here?" Cain asks._

 _Yang certainly has no explanation. Either cause she's the slave and isn't allowed to speak, or she does not have an idea. Either way, I make up an excuse._

 _"I put her through some hard training and I thought she's ready to submit." I say. "But sadly...she's still rebelling."_

 _I'm about to put a hand on her. Where? Doesn't matter. I have no intention to touch her. Yang gets the idea and plays along, and slaps my hand. "Hands off you filthy dog!" Clearly, this chick is not a very good actress. Her tone is a bit too revealing. Luckily, Cain doesn't suspect a thing._

 _"I warn you she's quite intense." Cain tells me._

 _"Yeah, well I'd like a good challenge." I say._

 _Cain decides to take over training. I make my leave right before she gets hooked up, and leave far enough to cancel out the screams of agony._

 _Patient. It's only a matter of time._

 _Meanwhile, Shadow is on Rufus's computer, looking over several footages. Rufus paces around his office, growing impatient. "Have you found out anything?"_

 _"I've searched the monitors. Everything up to two weeks shows that nobody's entered the office. Yet each delivery we've made end up fallen into the Guardian Corps." Shadow says._

 _"So, the masked man we saw was just a trick." Rufus says._

 _Shadow is disappointed to hear that. they executed Luke for nothing. "I'm starting to see it that way. It looks more like we've been hacked. But my whom?" Rufus and Shadow wonders. Just then, Shadow realizes something. "When did we hire Patrick again?"_

 _"About...last month." Rufus says._

 _Shadow types on the keyboard and then a monitor of my arrival shows up Rufus and Shadow looks closely. It seems pretty much nothing's gone wrong. Up until Rufus turns his back and I coverly put something into the harddrive._

 _"Master. Did you see that?" Shadow asks._

 _Rufus says nothing. He and Shadow get to the harddrive and open it. Inside it, they found the microchip I put in. "It's a hacking microchip...Patrick hacked into our system and sabotaged everything."_

 _Rufus growls as he crushes the chip in his hand. He is not happy. He's beyond furious._


	8. Festivals and Balls

**A/N: Looks like Chantal is in trouble. The Abduction Agency is targeting her now. Only problem is which is worse: Being used as bait or to be trained? Knowing Rufus, neither of them are good. Let's just hope ORPHAN and team Burn will stop him before she ends up in their clutches.**

* * *

The festival is taking place on the streets of Paris. Tonight is the ball at the grand hall, and the festival is part of the celebration. It's pretty popular at this time, fully crowded with over half of the citizens of the city. Even Chantal and Sky, and team Burn are here.

Chantal and Sky are out on their date while Team Burn is investigating. I'm still seeking answers about Rufus. What he is planning, and what is a l'Sith. l'Sith must have some connection to l'Cie's, the way Rufus fights back on the rooftop of Notre Dame.

Yang, Hope, Hamato and Violet have recovered well from their battle against Rufus. In the morning, Hope has regain enough strength to use his l'Cie magic. He was able to heal everyone's wounds with his Medic Cure. So far, everyone is left with some aches and bruises. But still, they're doing well.

"Wow. this place is so festive." Chantal says.

Chantal is pretty happy about being here. So colorful and many booths selling wonderful foods, merchandise and souvenirs. Sky chuckles at Chantals excitement. "I'm pretty sure that's why they're called festivals."

Chantal's excitement has caused her to tune out Sky's silly joke. It must have also overcome her flusters of romance and her crush on his handsomeness cause the next thing she does is grab him by the arm and starts pulling him towards one of the booths. Even Sky is caught by surprise.

Meanwhile...

"I'll have a bowl of the regular please." Yang orders.

Ruby looks at her sister then at the man behind the counter. "I'll have the same."

Hope looks over the menu. "Uh...do you have anything in low salt?" The kid gets no answer. "All right...I'll have the number 17."

"I'll take the special." Yuffie says.

The man who runs the noodle buff nods then goes inside, now the four of them wait for their lunch. "Focus guys. This is serious." I say.

"Right...Just what was Rufus anyhow?" Yang asks. "His fighting was so intense."

"Even I was outmatched for him." Violet says. I'm pretty sure anyone can outmatch Violet, since she only beats up people like Chantal.

"I didn't get much information from Don, all I know is that he's something known as...a l'Sith." I say.

Everyone seems confused, hope a bit surprised. "A l'Sith? ...You mean like..." Ruby makes her impression of a Cie'th, by moving her body mindlessly and making monstrous wailing sounds. Not too loud, she knows how to keep quiet.

"I wish, but no." I say. "We wasn't anything like a Cie'th. From the way he was fighting, the powers he was possessing was very familiar to l'Cie."

"l'Sith..." Hope looks down, thinking with his fingers on his chin. We all look at him waiting for answers. "I believe I've read something like this from one of the tablets in the Paddra Ruins... 'l'Sith...dark l'Cie's...Followers of the Fal'Sith.'"

"For a nerd, you are really lame at information." Violet says, bitterly.

For once, I agree with Violet. Only not as bitter as she did. "Dark l'Cie...That would explain why his powers are very similar to a l'Cies."

"I didn't get much information, but I've learned they were created thousands of years ago. Long before the Savior was even born." Hope says.

"The Forbidden History." I whispered.

The Forbidden History is something that none of us knew. Not even the most advanced collages in Cocoon. All we know about it, even in the Churches, is that it was a dark day for the world of Grand Pulse. I doubt Fang and Vanille would know anything, since they were only born over six hundred years ago when they first became l'Cies and turned to crystal. Yeul might know something since she's a Seeress, but she's all the way back at Grand Pulse.

This is going to be one tough puzzle.

Finally, the food as arrived, and everyone is excited. Yang takes out her credit card to pay for the meal. Just as they're about to dig in, the man throws the credit card back like a shuriken. The corner impaled on the bar. That's not a good sign, and it's true.

On the register are large red letters: "DECLINE!"

Yang is shocked, and everyone else is speechless. "What? How can my credit card be declined?" Yuffie looks at Yang, then back at her food in worry. "I barely spend a dint on this months payment." Yuffie tries to act casual. Looking away as she taps her fingers on the bar. Then she grabs the lowest bottom of the bowl and slowly slides it to her, smiling. Trying to keep it casual.

She's planning on stealing the food.

But that fails shortly once the chief catches her and then takes the bowl away. Yuffie shouts in despair as she tries to reach for her bowl, then she moans in sorrow as she lays her face on the bar.

I sign and then plant the money on the bar. I'm paying for their meal. I just hope Yang will pay me back.

While everyone is chowing down on their food, I take a walk around the festival. I wonder if Chantal is here with Sky. Might be difficult to find her since it's crowded. It'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Eventually, I do find Chantal. But I do not greet her. Instead, I just keep my distance and stay out of sight. I do not want to interfere on her date with Sky. She sure does seem happy, mainly focused on the merchandise that's selling at the one booth they're visiting.

Chantal has her eyes set on a hair accessory. A pretty red rose pin. Sky buys it for her and she puts it on. I must admit, she looks pretty with it. If Hope were here to see it, I can only imagine how he'll react.

I'm just glad I brought those two here. Of course, I may have spoken too soon.

I look to the side and I found something suspicious. There are two men, looking and having a conversation. The direction they're looking at...is at Chantal and Sky. I could be wrong. They might be looking at someone or thing else that just so happens to be in the same direction.

Sky and Chantal move on with the festival. The two man take notice and they move on as well. This looks bad. I decided to follow.

I try to get close to them. When I do, I slip a bug in the left men's coat collar, then I hide behind a booth. I put the ear piece on and listen carefully. I am not pleased at what they are saying.

"That's the target, right?" The first man says.

"Affirmative. The one in the hot pink and black shirt and silver raffle skirt." I gasp at the what the second one said. That's Chantal.

"Excellent. The master will be pleased." The first one says. "We should grab her now!"

"Not in this crowd. We wait until they're alone. We take care of the guy and grab the girl." They're Abduction Agency. Now they're targeting Chantal? Oh boy, I didn't think this trip could get any worse. "They're on the move. Let's go."

I look to see the two men are moving. I follow them.

Chantal and Sky both go to various booths. They are having a fun time, and are completely unaware of their friend and two villains are following them. The two agents are growing impatient. It's their mistake to follow them around in a large festival. Then again I should be talking cause I can only stop them when no one's looking.

Don't want to spread a panic that'll ruin their date.

By three o-clock, after having lunch at one of the booths, they leave the festival. That's when we make our leave and follow them. They both walk for a while, Chantal is back to her shy flustering self. The girl even blushes and gets pretty nervous once they link arms.

The Abduction Agency still follows them, and I follow them. We're in a wide empty open area. As long as Sky and Chantal don't spot us, I can make my move.

Chantal and Sky end their walk by sitting on the bench, watching the view of Paris. The Eiffel Tower became the center of their view. "This is the best day in our entire trip here." Chantal says.

"It's about to get even better for the ball tonight." Sky says. Chantal gasps. She has completely forgotten one minor flaw about the dance. She doesn't have a dress. "Something wrong?" Sky asks.

Chantal looks at Sky nervously. She can't let him know. Cause then she'll have to look for one with him. Chantal tries to hide her nerves as she smiles. "Uh...N-nothing. Nothing's wrong." Chantal says.

Sky shrugs. "Okay then." And the two of them get back on their sight seeing. After this, Chantal is gonna have to get some help. She'll need it on both ends of her situations.

One of the agents that's following them looks from behind the tree. "All right, Thomas. On the count of three, we knock the big guy out and grab the girl. Ready?" He receives no answer. He looks back to see that he is alone. "Thomas? ...Thomas?"

He takes a look around, didn't go too far from his position. In fact, when he reaches the next tree, he's horrified. His partner, completely unconscious, is hanging from the tree, hands cuffed to the branches and arrows pierced in the bark with his clothes caught.

He does not know what to say, but he gets even more scared when the person who's done this comes right out from behind the three. "Hello there...Buddy."

My tone sounds hostile and scary. That's what I plan to do. "Th-th-the...Shadow Hunter!"

"You and your friend are coming with me." I say, as I slowly approach Buddy, who is backing up in fear.

"N-now wait a minute...Can't we just talk this out? Maybe over a nice cup of-" Buddy makes a quick get away. I only watch him escape for a few seconds then I sigh shaking my head. This is so pathetic if he believes he'll get away that easily. I shift into Synergist, applying Haste on myself, then rush towards him with a burst of speed.

Chantal and Sky both look right behind them. "What was that?" Sky asks.

"I thought I heard something." Chantal says.

I run past Buddy and stand right in front of him. He breaks his run, looking shocked as he looks at me then behind him. "Wha...how did...?"

"We could do this all day, but how about we save ourselves the time." I say.

Buddy holds his hands out, waving defensively. "L-look...Whatever it is you want, I swear, I don't have or know anything. Please, just let me-"

Just then, Buddy gets tackled. I am surprised from the start, then after some rolling on the ground, Buddy is pinned to the ground with a blonde chick on top of him, one of her Shot Gauntlets on his neck.

"Yang?" I ask.

Yang looks at me, a bit clueless then she smiles. "What? Since when should you have all the fun?"

I just roll my eyes from that sentence.

* * *

Thomas and Buddy are both smashed into the wall, hands bound in behind. yang and I have taken back to our hideout. Now we are trying to interrogate them. They are targeting Chantal, which means the Abduction Agency wants her to something. Or maybe even worse. These two will know something.

I grab Thomas by the shirt and pull him close to my hostile face. "Talk! Who sent you two and why are you both after Chantal and Sky?"

"L-look. We don't know anything! I swear!" Thomas says.

I drop him on the prison ground. "So, you wanna play that game, huh? So be it. Yang?" Yang pays attention as I turn and walk away. "Do your worst."

Yang cracks her knuckles. "With pleasure."

After I pass Yang, I grab a lock of her hair and cut it off, then let them rain right in front of her eyes. Yang is focused on her loose her then she lets them rest in her cupped hands. Just before she goes full on berserk, I leave the prison and seal the door shut.

As I wait outside, I hear massive sounds of punching, kicking, bones breaking, outrageous shouts, screams of pain and objects crashing. It's so loud even a deaf person would hear it, and tremble in fear at Yang's rage. After a minute of this, the sounds die down. The door opens and Yang is the first to come out, then I walk right in.

Thomas and Buddy are pretty much in a bloodbath, and they act like they're living in their worst nightmare in the deepest abyss of darkness.

"Had enough yet?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Okay! Okay! We'll talk! We'll talk!" Buddy says. "We've received orders to capture Chantal. From Cain."

Yang's rage builds at the very mention of that name. "What does he want with her?"

"We have no idea, sir." Thomas says. "He just says it's an order from the higher up. Master Rufus himself. I swear, that's all we know! Now please! Don't leave up alone with this...this creature!"

Yang growls. That comment offends her. She readies for the next attack, but I hold a hand out in front of her. "No. That'll be enough. Let's get back to the others."

I turn and leave, then Yang follows me. We leave the prisoners in their cell.

We return to the main room and deliver the news. Some were a bit surprised, Hope the most. Violet, didn't care at all. Shocker...

"Why are they targeting her?" Ruby asks.

"Hard to say...but knowing Rufus and if I have to guess, I'd say he is aware that she's connected to me." I say.

Hope is a bit fired up. He's pretty worried about his crush. "We have to do something."

Hope runs off, but I grab him by the back of his jacket just as he was passing me. "Slow down there, Romeo." I lift the kid off his feet, even doing that he is still kicking his feet into running. "I agree we need to do something, but we can't just rush in. As far as they know, they are alone. And what's more, we'll end up spreading panic throughout the city."

I drop Hope as soon as he stops running in midair. Violet is just sits there, lighting a cigarette. "I'd say we let them take the slut. It's not like she has a life or anything."

Violet puts the cigarette in her mouth, the second she does, it gets slashed right off in light speed. Violet is shock by that strike, her eyes wide open to see there's a blade at the tip of her nose. "If Chantal falls into the hands of those animals because of your cowardly arrogance, you'll be getting an iron fist full of garlic!"

Violet gives the cold glare as she growls. "Fine! We'll...protect the nerd."

I sheathe the blade away. We think carefully about what to do for a plan. The obvious salutation is to keep an eye on Chantal and Sky. But at the same time, another team must search the town for Rufus.

While we're thinking of a plan, my phone dings. I've received a text. To my surprise, it's Chantal. I answer it an read. "Oh boy..."

"What's wrong?" Blaze asks.

"It's Chantal. She needs my help getting ready for the ball." I close the text and pocket the phone. "I completely forgot about the ball."

"Oh yeah. I've heard about it." Yang says. The second she does, she realizes something. "Wait...you don't think the Abduction Agency will be there?"

If Chantal and Sky are going, it's most likely. "We need a way to get inside." Hope says.

"Unless any of you guys have a pair of tickets, I'm afraid that's not going to work." I say.

Yang snaps her fingers. "I have an idea."

* * *

 _Things have been real quiet since the last time I've had my talk with Yang. I tried hacking into the system again, but my laptop states that the system is unavailable It's most likely they've found my hacking chip and removed it. If they did, then I'm on some very thin ice that'll crack open so easily, even by a light feather._

 _If I recall correctly, there are about half of dozen slaves left that are going to be delivered to the Guardian Corps. Once they are taken care off, I'll make my move._

 _Three days have passed and the deliveries have been made. Only less then twenty slaves remain within this building. I'll have to help them some way or else they'll get caught in the bloodshed of war._

 _Rosch reads the message I have send them, along with the address of the Abduction Agency's secret headquarters. "He has revealed the location. Now's the time to attack!" Rosch says. "Send in every available Guardian Corps and PSICOM soldiers there immediately!"_

 _Jihl nods. "Yes, Director Rosch."_

 _It's midnight and I suit up to blend in the shadows. I am not in my current black clothing in the present. Back then, I had to wear a black hooded mantle. I hide my face from the cameras that are around the halls, and make my way to the prison cells._

 _After I framed Luke for sabotaging their plans, I created a copy of Rufus's keycard, allowing me access to every classified area in this nightmare of a mansion._

 _I've arrive at my destination, Yang's prison cell. I use the keycard to unlock the door and open it. Yang was asleep, shackled and in zero clothing, on the ground. She slightly opens her eyes as I opened to the door and walk in. "Yang. It's time."_

 _I take out a lockpick and get to work on freeing Yang. Yang sits up straight. "Finally!"_

 _Yang rubs her wrists once she is freed. I take out some clothing, just a pair of shorts and a purple top. "This was all I can sneak in."_

 _Yang accepts the clothing. "It'll do." Once she is dressed, I hand her her weapons, the Shot Gauntlets. Back then, it was a very strange weapon to me. Then again, Serah told me that her sister's weapon is the Gunblade. Guess it's not that surprising. I would even make my weapon fusion a bow and dual blades. The Bowblades._

 _I hand Yang my second mantle and we both sneak through the dark hallways. "If we see that bastard Cain, save him specially for me!" Yang says in a hostile attitude. I use the keycard to take us to the stairs, and give us access to the reactor core of the building._

 _"First we set up the charges, then we'll wait for the army to arrive." I say._

 _"What about the rest of the victims?" Yang asks._

 _"Don't worry. We'll get to them soon. Just keep watch." I say._

 _I hurry inside while Yang stays by the door to keep watch. I set explosives everywhere. Every corner and every factoring machine in this basement. I set the charges and return to Yang. "The charges are set. The army will be here soon. Let's free the captives and get out."_

 _Yang nods. "Right."_

 _We hurry up the stairs, but still quickly. We do not want to wake up Rufus or his men. We both return to the prison levels, but as soon as we open the door, we have an unexpected guest._

 _"Well. Well. Well. What do we have here?" Rufus asks._

 _Yang and I are in a surprise. "R-Rufus? ...What are you doing up, sir?" I ask._

 _"I should ask you the same thing." rufus holds out my hacking chip. the second I see it, I realize why he is here. Rufus drops the chip in front of him and stomps on it, destroying it. "I knew it was you who was behind all this. You stoled our money! Free the slaves! And have my men arrested or destroyed by the Guardian Corps!" Yang and I say nothing. I just give a silent stare. "What I want to know is why...Why would you betray your fellow brothers?"_

 _"Shut up!" I say, which surprises Rufus. "Never call me that! I am not your brother! I'm not even one of your disgusting kind! Ever since I've arrived in Bodhum, I have suffered four years of Judgement. Everyone believe I'm a sexual animal! All because of what? Cause I'm a boy!" I point at Rufus. "It's because of people like YOU that's given me this curse of judgment! And now you actually believe I'm one of you! A total stranger! ...Well guess what? I am not! I never was and never will! I am not your brother! I am your enemy! And now...it's payback time."_

 _Rufus growls in anger. "You...you filthy traitor!" Rufus takes out his two Katana swords. "The penalty for betraying the agency is death!"_

 _Yang makes the first attack. She charges in with her gauntlets ready. She punch shoots Rufus, but he dodges them. After the third strike, Rufus kicks Yang hard in the stomach, bringing her to her knees. Then kicks her in the face, knocking her back._

 _I load my bow with arrows and shoot. Rufus deflects each of them with his swords. He charges towards me and strikes. I dodge the first few, but my luck runs out once he sweep kicks me._

 _I fall on my back. The next thing I know is that there's a blade above my heart, ready to impale. "I will end your treacherous ways!"_

 _Rufus draws the blade back. Just before he strikes, a large explosion happens, causing the mansion to shake. I know it's not the explosives I've set, cause the building still stands. It can only mean one thing:_

 _The Sanctum have arrived._


	9. Target: Chantal

**A/N: The ball is here, but that does not mean that things are going to be all calm and romantic, even though Chantal and Sky are going to show it. The Abduction Agency will plan to take Chantal, but the question is what will they plan to do with her? We can only hope we'll never find out, even since team Burn are gonna to attempt to stop their little kidnapping plan.**

* * *

The night time has come. The city of Paris lights up, being the bright stars on the the rest of my day, I went dress shopping with Chantal. I don't get why me of all people she would ask. Knowing her, she would be embarrassed going shopping with other boys. Mainly Sky obviously.

Despite suffering boredom, and ignoring the fact Chantal is denying the fact I have no fashion sense other then hats, being with Chantal is not a total loss. I mean, at least I'm able to protect her from any further perverts trying to kidnap her. But they'll come for her tonight at the Ball, I just know it.

We've made a plan. My team will keep an eye on Chantal and Sky for any hidden enemies while Violet and her team search the city for Rufus. I warn them to not make direct connect with Rufus, what they must do is warn us first and we all bring him down together. Knowing Violet's arrogance, I have a feeling she'll end up attacking him without any hesitation.

I'm now escorting Chantal to the ball. She's wearing an elegant long purple dress with black high heels, and her is set in a five strand back braid, which really suits her I admit. Even since she has that rose accessory she brought from the festival, which is set on the right side of her hair.

We're on the way to the ball and Chantal just won't stop talking. Bet you can guess how she's feeling tonight.

"I'm so nervous. What if everything goes wrong? I mean, he's just so gorgeous and dreamy and...ah! I said it out loud again. But what if many of the other girls in the hall flirts with him. I would lose them cause they would be more beautiful then me." I for one would disagree with that, but I doubt she'll listen when she's panicing. "You know what happens when I try to talk to him about my feelings for him. If a slow dance goes one-"

"Okay, Chantal!" We both stop as I turn to face her. "First of all: Relax. Okay? Secondly: Nothing bad is gonna happen. Everything's gone so well since we have arrived...Plus, I doubt it could get any worse then that spaghetti kiss."

Chantal blushes when I mention that. "I-I thought we agree to never talk about that."

"I'm just making a point, all right? Nothing bad's gonna happen." I slightly turn my head and whisper quickly, enough so that Chanty doesn't hear me. "I just hope so..."

Chantal takes deep breaths, specking in between. "Okay. Okay. Okay." Chantal straights the bangs of her hair, then makes sure the rest of it is in place, then straightens her dress. "You're right. Everything will be fine...How do I look?"

I look at Chantal from head to toe. Strangely, it puts me at an awkward situation. I have no interest in relationships, but I do admit I would date Chantal if I ever did. "Lovely." I say. Chantal blushes at my comment. She's been flattered. Now this is indeed an awkward situation for me. I look at the grand hall to find Chantal's prince charming by the entrance. "Oh look. There's Sky."

The second I mention that, Chantal gets nervous. One look at Sky and she is completely...hmm, let's just say in a deep dish of Chantalness. Sky is not wearing his beanie, but he is dressed as elegantly as Chantal. In a tuxedo. One look at Chantal, she's staring at him with a frozen stare, her face in a whole new shade of red.

Sky holds his hand out as he looks at Chantal. "Chantal, he wants to escort you. Accept his offer."

"I can't." Chantal barely whispers through her teeth. Yep, she's pretty much frozen. "I've lost all feeling in my legs." If her dress didn't cover her legs, I would see them shaking like crazy. I see Chantal tilting, but I quickly catch what was gonna happen.

That's when I catch her. "O-okay. Okay there, princess...Here, let me give you a push." I shove Chantal towards Sky. She stumbles forward, nearly tripped. Luckily, Sky rushed over to catch her. I wouldn't say so lucky to Chantal since this makes her flustered even further, if it's even possible after that nervous freeze.

Sky helps Chantal stand straight. "You look beautiful tonight." Sky says.

She can feel herself hyperventilating. She smiles even though her nervousness is overwhelming her mind, sending her into la-la-land.

I watch the two go inside. As soon as Sky hands the tickets, I make my leave. I'm meeting with my team in the gazebo on the left side of the courtyard. Hope is struggling as Yang is working on his tie.

"Just to tighten it a little more." She tightens the tie too much and Hope ends up choking.

"Ya-Yang! Yang! Yang!" Hope loosens the tie. "It's tight enough." Hope is also dressed in a tuxedo. Only not has handsomely as Sky. In his age of 15, he only looks cute. At least that's what the girls back at home would say...Maybe not Lightning.

I approach. "Is the young couple ready?" I ask.

"Don't call us that. It's embarrassing." Hope says.

"Relax, Hope. You two are suppose to go to the ball on a date." I say. "It's called undercover."

Hope mumbles under his breath. "I know what undercover means..."

Just as we are talking, that's when Hope's 'date' walks right in. Yang is totally excited. "Oh! You look SO beautiful!"

Ruby struggles to walk in as she fights to keep her balance on heels. She's wearing just a simple red dress. "Can we have a serious talk about how Weiss and Violet fights in these?" Ruby walks, keeps losing her balance. The poor girl is having quite a battle with those shoes. Yang just laughs at her little sister's situation.

The plan is simple. Yang uses her beauty charm to distract the security while the rest of us sneak into the ball. Hope and Ruby will act as a couple to keep a look out for anything suspicious, while I hideout on the highest floor looking down through my Sniper Bow. I'm gonna be the eye in the sky.

Once we are inside, Hope and Ruby are pretty intrigued at the party. Chantal and Sky were as well when they first entered. I'm not too impressed. When you see one elegant ball, you've seen them all.

I act fast to get into my position. I'm in my usual black clothing and black trench coat. I'm not dressed for the ball. That'll put me into some trouble.

I move to the highest floor and climb the walls onto one of the support beams. I take out my Sniper Bow, put the safety on then look right through the scope.

"I'm in position." I say on my headset. "You two set?"

Hope and Ruby are by the punch bowl. Ruby is getting drinks, non alcoholic hopefully, while Hope is just standing by. "We're all set."

"Excellent. Remember to keep your eyes open. They're probably everywhere." I say.

Hope nods. He turns to see ruby is offering him a drink, and he happily accepts it. I now check with Yang. "Yang, are you in position?"

Yang is hiding out in the hedges by the tree, on her motorcycle. Yang is going to be the getaway chase in case they manage to success in kidnapping Chantal. "My chopper's all set and ready for the big rush." Yang says.

"Excellent. Hold position and stand by for further orders." I say.

Now we wait. Keep our eyes open for anything suspicious.

The night goes on. So far, there are no sign of any Abduction Agency's. I wonder if Violet and the others are having any better luck. Overtime, I keep my eyes on Chantal and Sky. Chantal seems to be having a fun time. Her expression is smiling while blushing and her eyes looking lost. She's still lost in her own world again. It's like she's completely shut down. Well in a way, it's better then her ending up fainting.

Hope and Ruby are keeping their eyes out as well. They don't really dance with each other like all the other people in the ball, though they really should if they want to make their cover less suspicious. What I do notice is the way Hope is staring. Eyes shot open, face red, completely frozen in place.

I can already guess what's going on.

I look to see that he is staring at Chantal, who is talking to three other boys. From the looks at it, they seem to be trying to whoo her. Even Chantal is flattered in flusterness. I wonder what Sky's gonna say when he sees this.

"Hope! Stay focused!" I ordered, but he doesn't answer. I'm guessing he's overwhelmed in Chantalness. I had a feeling this would happen if he did see her radiant beauty tonight. "Ruby? A little help with Hope?"

Ruby is confused by my order, but one she sees Hope, she gets it. Normally, she would pretty tease Hope's crush, not in a rude way like Fang would, but in silliness like 'Oh. Hope and Chantal sitting in a tree' Something like that. But instead, she plays her role and she smacks Hope in the back of the head. That snaps Hope out of his mind and he turns to Ruby, who's looking at him in jealousy. Acting jealousy. Even her tone sounds like an act.

"Eyes on your date, mister." She says, pointing two fingers at her own eyes.

He knows that Ruby is just acting, but he still feels awkward thinking this is really a date for him and Ruby.

As the night goes on, everyone dances together. Right now, it's just waltzing. Even Ruby and Hope participate in it. Overtime, everyone switches partners. I just hope Chantal does not find Hope, or even end up dancing with him. I can't decided if it's because I don't want her to realize he's here or I don't want Hope to end up fainting or getting nervous dancing with the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

I don't have time to pick a reason. I stay focus on the task at hand.

I keep my eye on Chantal, since she's switching partners with a couple of strangers. Any one of them could be the enemy. Finally, they get to the slow dancing. Chantal becomes nervous, knowing she'll have to dance slowly, very close with her prince charming.

Even though she's save with Sky, I keep an eye on Chantal during this dance, making sure nothing bad happens. Everything seems fine. She was nervous at first, then relaxes once she rests her head on his chest, smiling. Though her face is a little red, probably from when Sky wrapped an arm around her back.

'Dreams really do come true'. Chantal says in her thoughts.

"There's a suspicious person in the party." Ruby says in the headset.

"Where?" I ask.

Ruby and Hope are slow dancing together. Ruby looks past Hope's shoulder, directly at Sky and Chantal. "Southwest of the direction Chantal's facing."

I follow that direction and I've found my targets. Two men, talking while they're facing at Sky and Chantal, just a couple of feet away from the young couple. Just as I feared, it's Cain and Shadow. "I know those two. They're Rufus's henchman."

Cain and Shadow have their eyes set on Chantal. "There she is. You got the Chloroform gun?" Cain asks.

Shadow reaches into his suit and takes out a dart gun. "Indeed. Let's get to work." Shadow and Cain are about to make their move, but Cain spots Hope and Ruby. As soon as Hope realizes they're watching them, he and Ruby return to focusing on each other. "Wait...That kid. He's the one from the bombing incident. Which means..." Cain looks around, until he spots me on the support beams. "The Shadow Hunter!"

Cain takes out a pistol gun and shoots directly at me. The bullet missed me by a few inches and hits the glass roof. The crowd starts to panic and scream, which also awaken Chantal from her fantasy dream. "Great. Just when we had everything under control." I say under my breath.

I aim my Sniper Bow at Cain, remove the safety and fire a metal arrow. It barely missed Cain by his feet. Everyone starts to leave the grand hall, trying to get away from being victims of a battle. Chantal and Sky look around. They look up to see where that arrow came from.

"Patrick?" Chantal asks.

"If he's here...I'm guessing there's trouble." Sky says.

Shadow hims the gun at Chantal and fires a dart. It hits her directly in the neck. Instantly, the girl is out like a light. Sky is about to catch her, only shortly when Cain attacks him. Cain knocks Sky out and snatches Chantal. "Let's get out of here!" Cain and Shadow makes their escape. Leaving behind one of Chantals slippers. (Bet you can guess where this is going)

"No! Chantal!" Hope shouts.

He and Ruby chases the villains out of the ball. I jump right off the beam and chase after him. I call for Yang from the headset. "Yang! Getaway! Getaway!" The three of us chase them until in the courtyard. By then, they have Chantal loaded in a van and they drive off. As they're escaping, I keep shooting my Sniper Bow at them.

Finally, Yang shows up on her motorcycle. I hope on the backseat. "After that van!" Yang chases after the motorcycle.

Hope and Ruby are both left behind. "I-I'm...sure they'll be back to pick us up." Ruby says.

Yang and I chase after the van on a large highway. Tons of cars are honking as the van zigzags through them, nearly crashing into them. Yang follows it right on its tail. "Get me in close!" I shout over the wind.

"I'm on it!" Yang shouts.

Yang hits the accelerator. Soon, we're right on its tail. I stand on my seat, activate the magnetism on my boots and jump on the roof. Cain and Shadow are in the front seats, and they hear the banging sound of my landing on the roof.

"They're on us!" Shadow says.

"Not for long they are. Get up there!" Cain says.

Shadow climbs out of the window on onto the roof. I ready my Dual Blades and he readies his fists. While Shadow and I are fighting, soldiers of the agency open the back doors. Both of them aim their guns for Yang and shoots rapidly. Yang drives her motorcycle side to side of the road, trying to dodge the incoming bullets.

Shadow and I fight each other on the van. I am in no danger of falling since I'm magnetized to the metal roof. Shadow is not getting blown away so easily, but I have to knock him off somehow. We both switch places, I'm facing in the same direction of the wind, which allows me to blow some blinding powder on Shadow.

Shadow screams in agony as the dust hits his eyes. I attack, knocking him off the van. Yang notices the incoming body and dodges it in the neck of time. "Hey! Watch it!" Yang shouts at me. Yang gets tired of the soldiers shooting at her, so she shoots back at them with her right Shot Gauntlet.

I was about to get into the van, my Protect spell should prevent me from getting shot, but Cain climbs up on the roof. I noticed he's wearing magnetic boots, he won't be easy to knock off. Cain has his trident out and ready. "You use to be our greatest hero! You were a true brother! But you stabbed us in the back!"

"Oh for the love of Eden! I was NEVER one of your kind! Get that through that thick, stupid head of yours and the rest of your disgusting animalism kind!" I bark at him.

"You are a traitor, Shadow Hunter!" Cain spins his weapon, then holds it firmly as he positions to fight. "And you will fall like one!"

Cain and I are in close combat. Strike and dodge and block each others attacks. Cain fights with his feet as well, using one while keeping the other rooted to the roof. I keep both of my feet on the roof, cause I know that my chances of getting blown off will increase with less magnetism on the metal.

I cast half a dozen Ruin orbs and launch them all at Cain. He twirls his spear to block the magical orbs. I strike quickly with my Dual Blades and both of our weapons are in a clash and we both use all of our strength to rebel each other.

"You're pretty skilled for a l'Cie. But not as clever as you use to be." Cain says with a smirk. He knows something. Cain pulls me back and then ducks. Up ahead, and for only a second, I see the van is thought from a tunnel, and the clearance is too low.

I get knocked off by hitting the tunnel. Yang gasps as she sees me coming down and crashed into her. the motorcycle loses balance and slides on the road, eventually coming to a stop. After a moment, I get back on my feet and stand, looking at the Van that's at a far off distance, and then vanishing.

Chantal is now in the hands of the Abduction Agency. "Bullshit!"

* * *

Yang and I quickly return to the hideout. I pace around, unease. Chantal is one of my closest hands and now she's in grave danger. I cannot rest. I have to do something.

Ruby and Hope returned shortly after we did, with Sky as well. Sky is here, confused and worried, but also upset. Not at us, at those who took Chantal. But he's also surprise to see Violet is apart of this team. Sky is not a very pleasant sight for Violet as well. We explain to him what happened, how the Abduction Agency is targeting Chantal and we tried in all our power to stop them, but it was futile.

"Those bastards! What are they going to do to Chantal?" Sky asks.

"At worst...you do not want to know." I say, horrified by the thought.

Yang sits right next to Sky. "I'm sorry for your friend...meanwhile." Yang flips her hair to the side, crosses her legs and rest an arm on Sky shoulder, while looking at him charmingly. "I'm single and available." Yang finishes it with a purr. Sky is feeling uncomfortable. Now Yang is on a list of fangirls who are crushing on him.

"Yang is flirting with a guy who's already in a relationship?" Ruby laughs. "That's just ridiculous."

Violet looks at Ruby with a mean look. "Says the girl who's in love with weapons." Violet's comment offended Ruby.

Hope is most depressed about the situation. Even so, Yang speaks. "What are we gonna do now?"

I know the answer. It's not wise, but it's our one and only option. "Defeat Rufus. If we do, the Abduction Agency will fall."

"But, how are we going to do that? From what I've heard, he's extremely powerful." Ruby says.

It's true. He's a l'Sith. Even with two l'Cie's, we're still out matched. "Well, I've been working on Cie Technology recently. Mainly to figure out how to turn Cie'th back into humans. But in one of my blueprints, I created a nullify collar that's set to disable l'Cie powers. You see, I've learned that a combination of Lizard venom and Behemoth blood can create a chemical that'll-"

"Get to the point, nerd! I'm literally fighting the urge to break most of your teeth." Violet says.

I glare at Violet, slowly clinching my hand into a fist from that comment. Oh how her bitchy attitude makes me bitter. "What I'm saying is that the collar will disable l'Cie powers. If I'm correct, it'll make Rufus powerless to fight."

"But Rufus is a l'Sith. Would that even work on him?" Yuffie asks.

"It might. I do believe l'Cie's and l'Sith are similar." Hope says.

"All right. Now we just need to find Rufus." I say.

We all think and wonder where Rufus could be and how we can find him. So far, we have thought of nothing. Just then, the TV suddenly turns on. We all look at it. There's nothing, but it clears up and shows a video. It's Rufus in the hour of darkness.

"Greetings citizens of Paris." We all pay close attention. Perhaps this will tell us where Rufus is. "I am Rufus Zero of the Abduction Agency. Let it be known that your city is tainted by a vile monster known as the Shadow Hunter, a monstrous scum that seeks to destroy the very peace of our nation. However, we seek to destroy him, freeing you all of his vile treachery. Patrick! If you are watching this, you should know that I have someone very close to you."

Rufus moves aside, revealing Chantal bound and mouth gagged, at the end of the plank. We all, excluding Violet who just chuckles with delight, get a close look. We're all in horror shock. "Chanty!" Sky says.

The camera turns to Rufus. "If you truly value this slut's life, you would hand yourself over to the Abduction Agency at dawn, at the top of the Eiffel tower and accept your punishment for your treachery. It's your choice. You...or her."

The TV turns off. We all are left silent. If we try anything to stop Rufus, he'll kill Chantal. I guess there's no other choice.

I have to turn myself in.

* * *

 _Guardian Corp and PSICOM troopers arrive at the mansion. Several airships taking the skies. Director Rosch is on the front lines. He gazes at the large, dark mansion._

 _"This is the place alright. Raid the mansion! Bring it down!" Rosch says._

 _Rufus and I are still in the prison floors. Rufus is lost at the sudden explosion. "What was that?"_

 _"Your downfall!" I say. I kick Rufus hard in the stomach. He staggers, I get back on my feet and toss him into one of the open prison cells, then seal the door shut. I help Yang get up. "Come on! We need to free the others, quickly!"_

 _We use the keycard to free the remaining 18 slaves. They can only be covered by towels and very few bathrobes. There's only so little I can sneak in without the enemy knowing._

 _"Hurry everyone! To the roof!" I say._

 _Yang and I lead the captives through the mansion._

 _Sanctum soldiers break into the mansion, destroying everything in sight. Rufus bangs on the door hard, trying to break out. Shadow arrives in the prison hall to find all the doors open. Except for one. He unlocks the door and Rufus burst it right open._

 _Rufus walks right out to see Shadow. "Shadow? What is going on?"_

 _"The Sanctum. They have found us. They're raiding the mansion as we speak." Shadow says._

 _Rufus growls in deep anger. "Patrick! That traitorous snake! Gather the remaining members. We are at war!"_

 _"Yes sir...But what about you?" Shadow asks._

 _Rufus turns with a growl then walks away. "I have business to attend to."_

 _A lot is going on in this mansion. First off, Shadow follows Rufus's orders and gathers all the members to fight. But that's sadly a mistake since the Sanctum out number them 50 to 1. meanwhile, Yang and I are running down the halls with the captives, only to be stopped by Cain. He holds his trident out, readying for combat. We can't fight an elite fighter of the agency, not with these many innocent lives._

 _"You get them out of here, Patrick." Yang steps forward, cracking her knuckles. "This one is mine!"_

 _I nod and I lead the captives, leaving Yang alone for her fight against her master._

 _I lead all the slaves to the rooftop, where a large airship makes ready for the land. I predict this battlefield at the front step of the mansion, which is why I told Rosch to send in an airship to carry the captives._

 _I finally get the last one in. "That's everyone! Take off!" I order._

 _Sazh gives me a salute. "Rogar that."_

 _The airship takes flight and soars off. I'm about to return to the ground floor to join in on the battle. Until..._

 _"Well, well, well." I turn to see it's Rufus. "Look at what the spider drag into the web! A snake!"_

 _"That makes no sense at all." I say as I take out my bow and an arrow._

 _"It doesn't matter." Rufus takes out his two swords. "I will massacre you right here!"_

 _Rufus charges with a yell, I quickly load a bow with an arrow and fire. Our battle has just begun._

 _Yang is doing a hard time on her fight as well. Yang is tough, but Cain is stronger and more skilled with his trident. As they fight, Cain has made the biggest mistake of his life. One his last strike, he cuts a few locks of Yang's hair. As she notices, he hair burns in golden fire and her eyes turn bloody red._

 _"YOU MONSTER!" After unleashing a burst of flames, Yang rushes towards Cain in a burst of speed and beats the life essence out of him._

 _My fight against Rufus is a struggle. I don't have any melee weapons back then like the Dual Swords of the Bowblades, so I'm relaying on my five years of karate. Attack and defending with hands and feet._

 _"You are pathetic! Your skills are weak! You are not even a match for me!" Rufus strikes. I dodge and strike him right in the armpit, causing him to stagger and drop the sword he's holding. I drag it and attack him with it. Rufus parries my attacks and counterattacks. I dodge and parry his attacks, but I'm not fast enough. I end up taking a couple of cuts on my arms and face._

 _Meanwhile, Yang arrives on the battlefield, dragging the beaten up Cain behind her. She does not join the battle, but walks right through it until she finds Yaag Rosch. Rosch is surprise to see the young blonde._

 _"You must be Yang Xiao Long." Rosch says._

 _"So you've heard of me?" Yang asks._

 _"Indeed. Patrick told me about you." Rosch says._

 _Yang hands Cain to Rosch. "The captives should be free right about now."_

 _"Agreed. I got the word from Mr. Katzroy." Rosch says._

 _My fight against Rufus still continues, but it is not going too well. Rufus is probably only halfway towards defeat meanwhile I'm wounded in very slightly out of breath. At one point, Rufus punches me hard in the face, knocking me down and letting the remote detonator fly right out of my vest._

 _Just my luck, it lands on the front side and the button is pressed by the solid ground._

 _The explosion sets off, wiping out the whole mansion. Rosch, Yang and all of the soldiers are all in total shock by the explosion. Yaag especially. "Oh my Maker! Patrick's still in there!" Along with many other soldiers_

 _"Search team! Douse the flames and find the Mercenary!" Rosch orders._

 _Trapped in a ring of flames, I still live. But I am not unharmed. I have cuts and bruises, a few burn marks. I've lost most of my strength and energy. I takes me a whole minute to summon it and get on my hands and knees. Once I stand, I wince in pain and grab my left shoulder. I can't be surprised it's my weak arm since it's where I cut myself._

 _I hear painful moaning then fierce yelling. "My face! My face!" I look to see it's Rufus. His hands are in his face. "You!" Rufus stands, he removes his hands and glares at me with his hideous new face. "Look at what YOU DID to my face!"_

 _I don't care. He deserves it. Rufus growls angry and leaps towards me. But I quickly take out my bow, aim an arrow for him and fire. The arrow hits him right in the eye. He stops and yells in pain. While he's in pain, I kick him in the back of the knee, grab his arm then use all my strength to toss him against a burning wall._

 _He crashes against it then falls on the ground. The wall suffers the impact and falls toward, crashing onto Rufus and then explodes. He's defeated. Defeated and dead._

 _"It's...finally over." I whisper, then I limp away._

 _I walk right through the burning remains of this place, until the search team finds me. They help me return to Rosch and the rest of the Sanctum soldiers. Yang approaches me in worry._

 _"Patrick! Oh my Maker! Are you all right?" Yang asks._

 _I'm a bit surprised she's worried about me like Serah would. "I'm...fine. At least the Abduction Agency is finally defeated."_

 _Rosch approaches to me. "You did well, I'll admit. Thanks to you, hundreds of people are saved from a criminal organization we couldn't even stop." Rosch says. "Now come. Let's get you fixed up...and talk about your reward."_

 _I nod then follow Rosch back into the airship. All the captive women are released and many of the remaining Abduction Agency members, including Cain and Shadow, are now imprisoned. As we all make our leave, something bangs on the pile of burning rubble. Eventually, an arm bursts right out._

 _Someone's still alive. And it's none other then...Rufus Zero._


	10. The Downfall

**A/N: The final chapter of the story. Things are getting intense since Chantal has been kidnapped by the agency. How will all of this end? We can only hope everything will turn out well. Here is where it all ends. The Shadow Hunter vs. the l'Sith.**

* * *

Dawn approaches.

Rufus, Cain and a few of their soldiers await at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Hundreds of other soldiers, PSICOM and Agency, are on the ground, right underneath the tower, in case of any tricks. Chantal is still in her bondage. But what's surprising is that she's still in clothing. In the exact same dress she wore to the ball. Only difference is she's missing one of her slippers.

Shadow died on the highway when he was knocked off, and several cars crashed. First few stopped at the sight of him, but several others behind it crashed, creating an accident that took away his life.

"Where is that monster?" Rufus says, getting antsy.

"He should have gotten the message, master. I'm sure he's on his way." Cain says.

"He better be." Rufus says.

"You'll never win. Patrick will beat you and rescue me!" Chantal says. She's suddenly getting all fired up.

Rufus summons on of his blades, having it by her throat, giving Chantal a close glare. "Are you trying to knock on deaths door?" He says with a growl.

Even though his face is covered by a mask, Chantal is pretty scared by his threat, even if it's only from his angered tone and his one eye. Though the red eye where he got shot could be pretty scary as well.

"Master. Take a look at this." Cain says.

Rufus stands down from Chantal and looks up to where Cain is looking. Far away, there's a large helicopter. But it's not a normal Helicopter. It's an Eidolon. Omega Weapon in its Gestalt Form.

"Soldiers! Aim and prepare to fire on my command." Rufus orders.

The soldiers aim their guns for the large Eidolon. Rufus does not give the command to fight. He just watches it cautiously, suspiciously. Omega Weapon lands right at the very edge of the top platform of the tower. Sky and I both hop right off. I'm wearing a hooded mantle that's covering most of my face in darkness. Only thing that's revealed his my mouth and chin.

As soon as we're off, Omega Weapon shifts back into its original form and then vanishes. Chantal is kind of surprised to see it's just the two of us. When I was coming to the rescue, she was expecting either me alone or with Hope and the mercenary group I mentioned to her.

"So, the traitorous snake finally reveals himself." Rufus says. "Have you thought about our decision?"

I nod. "I have...I've decided to make the trade."

Chantal gasps hearing that. "No! You can't!" She shouts.

Cain punches Chantal in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. "You don't have any say in this!"

Rufus and I are at a stare down. "Hand yourself over."

"Release Chantal first." I counter.

"I don't have time for silly games!" Rufus summons blades from his right arm.

I smirk. "How's this for silly games? If you don't hand Chantal over to us, then I'll escape and you'll never get your vendetta. And if you kill her, I'll hide somewhere where you'll never in a million years will find me. You're only hope for vengeance is the end of time itself!"

Rufus glares. He believes that I'm bluffing. But I show no signs of bluff, even though most of my face is shrouded. But my silence is speaking for my expression. Rufus growls as he speaks. "Very well...But first...drop your weapons." With a small hesitation, I unstrap the quiver that contains my arrows and the Bowblades on each side and I hand them to Sky, who straps it on himself. Rufus then speaks to Cain, without taking his eyes off of me. "Release the girl."

Cain is surprised by the sudden order, even though he knows it's a depend I made. Without question, he releases Chantal. The second the girl is free, she runs towards Sky. Sky holds her in his arms. Chantal rests her head on his chest, not even caring about her embarrassment of her crush on him.

She even closes her eyes and whispers. "Oh Sky, you are my knight in shining armor."

Sky looks at Chantal with a confused moan. "Hmm?"

"Sky...take Chantal and go." I say, then I walk forward to Rufus.

Chantal snaps out of her fantasy once she hears that.

Sky doesn't say anything. He just watches. I walk forward right until I am in a few inches in front of Rufus. "I see you have finally come to your senses...If only you did three years ago!" Chantal worries about me, but she is not prepared for what happens next.

Rufus stabs me in the stomach. In cold blood. Chantal screams in horror. I shout in pain, gasp my breath escapes my lungs. Once Rufus removes the blades, I collapse on the ground. Tears fills Chantals eyes. One of her friends just died right before he eyes.

Tragic.

"It is done!" Rufus says as he stares down at my dead body. He now looks at the stern Sky and the despair Chantal. "Cain...wipe them out!"

Sky shots his eyes open in shock and Chantal gasps. She did not think it could get any worse. Even Cain is surprise. "B-but...master. We agreed to let them go if Patrick-"

"I do not make deals with traitors! We cannot have any witnesses!" Rufus says. "Kill them! Now!"

Cain is speechless at first, even looks shocked. Then he puts on his serious face and bows. "I understand, master."

Cain takes out his trident as he glares at the young couple, and all the other soldiers cock their guns. Locked and loaded. Looks like they're in quite the situation. Chantal panics the most.

As the soldiers march forward, they suddenly stop. Sounds of pain groaning and growl fills their ears. They look around wondering where it's coming from. Once they found the source, they are horrified beyond description. "S-s-sir!"

Rufus looks down. the source is me, my body twitching and growling in agony. What surprises everyone most is a large black feathered wing pops right out of my right shoulder. The soldiers step back. Even Rufus is in shock. "What is this sorcery?"

My body stops twitching, and I stand on my hands and knees, panting monstrously. In light speed, I rush towards one of the soldiers and bite him. Everyone is in shock at how fast I am, even for a Shadow Hunter. The soldier cries in pain as he gets siphoned.

In no time, he dies and his body falls. Chantal is horrified at the sight of me, in a shocking way. "P-P...Pat...rick?"

Rufus doesn't care. His vengeance boils up inside of him. With a roar, he strikes, but I block the attack and punch him hard. Hard enough to cause him to stagger back. Before my blow, Rufus grabs the mantle I wear. Once he sees the cloak in his hand.

My face is revealed. Or should I say someone else's. Cause we're all greeted by a man with black hair and a different face. "WHAT!?"

Chantal is completely speechless. "S-Sky? ...But..." Chantal looks back at the Sky that's next to her. "H-how are you..."

To answer Chantals confusion, the first Sky removes his beanie, revealing brown short hair, and puts on the black fedora. The answer became clear. The Patrick was Sky and the Sky was me. This is hard for Chantal to absorb. Just then, she realizes something.

'You are my knight in shining armor.'

She whispered that towards me, thinking I was Sky. Chantal is beyond shocked. If this were an Anime, the back ground would be dark blue and her entire body is completely coloring book white, with embarrassing lines all over her head. The surprise to all this is that she is not ending up fainting.

I chuckle as I look at Rufus. "Wow. Switch clothes and put Sky in a mantle and voice modifier and you can barely tell us apart. Even Chanty bought it." I say.

Rufus is clueless. It's true that Sky did sound a lot like me, but it's unbelievable. Until Sky removes a device that's strapped around his neck. Rufus is furious. He growls and shouts at me. "YOU TRICKED ME!"

Page 76 of my book: 101 Ways to Trick Your Enemies and Arrogant Jerks. "Like I would really turn myself into you." I roll Sky's jacket sleeve off my wrist and speak into the wrist communicator. "Now!"

There's a moment of nothingness. Not even Rufus makes an attack or anything. Suddenly, shadows are casted over us, over the Eiffel Tower. Chantal and the members of the Abduction Agency looks up. To they're surprise, there are Airships. Dozens of them. ORPHAN Airships.

"The Sanctum?" Cain asks.

"Not the Sanctum again! Not here! Not now!" Rufus shouts.

Several of them make their landings on wide open areas around the tower. The doors open, allowing dozens of soldiers to run out and charge into the army of Abduction Agency's and PSICOM.

The war has just begun.

Two airships fly close to the tower. One of then opens, revealing Team Burn. Yang, Ruby, Violet and Hamato, while the rest join the soldiers on the battlefield. The second airship opens up, revealing Director Amodar and Hope. Behind them is his General. Lightning Farron. Only she looks completely different.

She's in a disguise: A short blonde wig, sunglasses, long tan trench coat, black jeans and heel boots. "Grrr. I hate this disguise." She scratches her head, the inside of her wig. "And this bald cap is so itchy."

"Maybe next time, don't get yourself ban in places Farron." Amodar says.

"Those idiot men had it coming! Just get us in close." Lightning says.

Noel is also here, for he is next to Lightning. in fact, he's the one who picked out Lightnings disguise. It was either him or Snow, and she'd rather not play dress up with that idiot.

Our fight goes on on the tower. I'm facing Rufus while Yang and Ruby are handling Cain, Sky is at the edge defending Chantal, and Violet and Hamato are taking care of the group of soldiers. The airship gets close for the three l'Cies to jump off. Noel helps out Violet and Hamato while Hope helps Yang and Ruby. Lightning looks to see how the fight's are going. In the end, she decides to aid me in my battle with Rufus.

Chantal and Sky both get on the airship and it takes off, heading to the battlefield below.

My fight against Rufus is not going too well. I can barely harm him, or even hit him at that matter. I'm not getting hit so easily, but that doesn't make my situation any better. Rufus sweep kicks me, causing me to fall. He gets on top of me, with a blade about to impale at my throat. I grab his hand to repel the attack.

"I'll rid the world of a vile monster!" Rufus shouts in my face.

It's a struggle to fight back, but Rufus gets interrupted when Lightning jumps on him. "Get off of him!" She strikes him hard with both of her Gunblades. Rufus reaches over him to grab and remove her. He tosses her and she crashes against a metal pillar.

Rufus summons blades from both of his arms. Before he attacks Lightning, I jump at him and strike him with all of my strength. I've manage to break his mask in half and bring him on his knees. Rufus covers his faces and growls in pain as his mask breaks and falls.

I cast a Ruinga on Rufus and the explosion knocks him back, to the edge of the tower. I approach Lightning as she recovers from the impact. She looks up at me and gives a single chuckle. "Nice outfit. Since when is leather your type?"

I get she's talking about Sky's jacket that I am wearing. "What about you, blondie?"

Lightning stands up. "Shut up. Like I want to wear this silly outfit."

Once we're both done messing with each other, we turn to Rufus. He stands, revealing his face. Completely misshaped and covered in burning scars and his head is completely bald as his hair burned away. His left eye, it's all red because that's where his mark is.

A large black X formed by little X's, arrows on the end of each line. In the center of the large eye, a red eye.

Branded by Bhunivelze. The Mark of a l'Sith.

Lightning and I prepare ourselves for battle.

The airship lands on the ground. Once it opens, Sky and Chantal runs while Amodar joins the battle. Amodar sees there are unfamiliar faces fighting against the enemy. Yuffie throws her large shuriken and fights one of the large men. Blaze is handling ten soldiers at once, taking out their guns with his axe. Slash is swift and powerful, he takes out his enemies before they can even look at him. Amodar joins in on the battle, ripping his enemies to shreds with his minigun.

PSICOM and Agencies are both losing, but they still fight through. They rather face ORPHAN and Burn over Rufus.

Yang faces Cain head on. Ruby jumps in and attacks with her sniper-scythe. Cain kicks Yang back and blocks Ruby's attack just in time. Now he faces little red. Ruby's attacks a fast and powerful, but Cain is stronger. He blocks every attack. For his counterattack, he knocks the weapon right out of Rubys hands, then grabs her by her hood and lifts her off her feet.

Ruby swings her arms and legs, trying to punch or kick Cain. But her arms and legs are too short. She can't even touch him. "Aren't you a cute little red riding hood...Maybe I could take you in, mold you into my own personal slave with a nice body." Cain chuckles in delight at the end of that sentence. Ruby has no idea what he's talking about, but we just hope she does not figure it out.

Like in a rush, Yang tackles Cain, knocking him back and causing him to lose his grip on Ruby. She beats the daylights right out of him. Unleashing her berserkers rage, as if she just saw locks of her hair cut right off once again. But it didn't, she's just very protective and pissed off at the same time.

"YOU! KEEP! YOUR! DIRTY! HANDS! OFF! OF! MY! SISTER!"

For her final blast, her right arm draws back and the Shot Gauntlet is set to maximum power. She punches him hard on the side of his face, with all of her strength, and a single shot causes a massive explosion, that sends Cain flying. Or I should say what remains of him.

Never mess with Yang Xiao Long or her sister Ruby Rose.

Lightning is facing head off against Rufus. Her attacks with her Gunblades are doing no effect against his armor. Then she shifts into Ravager and cast Thunder spells. Rufus dodges each lightning bolt that rains down on him, then Lightning and I switch.

"He's mine!" I shout.

I attack Rufus with my Bowblades. My main weapon and l'Cie magic are all I have, since my throwing stars and blinding powder and such are still in my clothing that Sky is wearing. Rufus attacks are fast and powerful, so I dodge with all my speed myself and my Haste spell and muster. Rufus blocks each of my attacks. After a while, I end up getting hit. Rufus final strike knocks me back, then Lightning takes the lead in the fight.

Rufus blocks each of her attacks. Now Lightning shifts her right weapon into a gun and shoots, then shifts it back into a sword and the second one into a gun and shoots twice. Lightning repeats this attack, shifting one Gunblade and the other next, slashing and shooting, making Additional shoots with each shifting. Shifting, striking and shooting faster. But Rufus is faster at blocking.

Chantal and Sky are both in a zone area from the battlefield. Sky runs and jumps high with his half-demonic powers, with Chantal on his back. The whole time, the girl is blushing being this close to Sky. Once they reach the top of a building, Sky puts Chantal down.

"Made it out of that craziness." Sky says.

Chantal agrees. Though seeing Sky dressed like me seems a bit weird for her. We're nearly look alike and being in my clothing would just makes it seem like she's really with me. It's already bad enough she whispered her feelings for Sky towards me thinking I was him.

Putting that whole thing aside from her kind, Chantal changes the subject. "Are you okay? You really...took quite a hit."

Sky chuckles putting a hand on his torso. "I'm fine...No worse then when Kaylee first stabbed me. And I was human when it happened."

Chantal giggles. "You two are insane...well, I believe Patrick is, but you..."

"Hey, it was his idea. I hesitated but then decide to play along. I had to save you from that crazy man." Chantal blushes from the comment. He just admits he was doing this to save her. "Speaking of which..." Sky reaches into my coat pocket and takes out the black slipper. "I believe this is yours." Chantal gasps to see her missing slipper in his hands. "Allow me."

To her surprise, he gets down on his knees and puts the slipper on her bare foot. The girl blushes in the deepest shade of red. Overwhelming in flusterness, she passes out. Fainted.

After Cain's death and the soldiers have fallen, it is now just Rufus. He stands in place as he becomes aware of his surroundings. All of us surrounds Rufus, readying ourselves for Combat. Noel twirling his blades then firmly holds them in fighting position, Violet cracking her knuckles, Ruby cocking her Snipe Scythe, Yang flipping her golden hair and positions, Cracking my neck and load my Bowblade with an arrow, Lightning shifting her Gunblades, right as a sword and left as a gun, Hamato twirling his staff and grabs firm hold of it in position, Hope summoning orbs of Ruin. Rufus readies himself for combat as he summons every single blades within his armor.

"L'Cies! Team Burn! GET HIM!" I order.

Many attacks happen at once. Ruby makes a strike with her Scythe, but Rufus ducks the slash. Hamato jabs his staff, but Rufus dodges and quickly grabs the staff and use it to hit Ruby and then direct attack it back on Hamato. Noel leap strikes and Rufus hits him knocking Noel away. Violet charges. Rufus blocks the attack, grabs and flips her over him.

Lightning leaps to the side, shooting rapidly with both her guns. Rufus blocks all the bullets, I attack with my Dual Blades. Rufus strikes me in the arm and while I'm staggering, he grabs me and use me as a human shield as Yang and Violet attacks him. The very second they stop attack, the kicks me into crashing against them. Hope fires several Ruin spells as he runs aside, Rufus blocks them all.

Ruby makes a leaping strike, but Rufus, both at the same time, dodges and grabs her foot. With a spin, he tosses her to the oncoming Lightning. Hamato makes a strike. It hits Rufus but he suffers no damage. Rufus kicks Hamato in the stomach then grabs him by the head and tosses him against the tower, along with Hope and Noel who tried to attack him while he was handling Hamato.

Rufus actually has a two second break, but that shortly ends with Yang, Ruby and Violet ambushes him from behind. But Rufus senses their attacks and turns to strike. After three slashes, the trio are knocked back to the edge of the platform.

Now it's just Lightning and I. We both attack Rufus on both sides. Even with just one arm on each of us, he manages to block our attacks. Now We're all at the stand still. Lightning and I use all of our strength to hold him in place, but we struggle for Rufus is much stronger with his Loa's Blessing from Voodoo.

Rufus casts Agony, a Dark Ruinga. That's surprising is he casted two of them at the same time, one out of each hand. And the dark spell damages Lightning and I, knocking us back.

At the same time when we're hit, Hope jumps onto Rufus. Rufus is caught by surprise but is too late to do anything about it. Hope instantly plants a metal collar on Rufus and it automatically, magnetically, locks on to him. Rufus reaches over him for Hope and pulls him right off, slamming the kid to the metal ground.

Hope looks at Rufus's ugly face in fear. Rufus casts an Agony...but nothing comes. He tries casting it again but it feels. "Wha...What is going on?"

"Don't bother trying." I say as I get back on my feet. "That collar disables l'Cie powers. We modified it to work on a l'Sith like you. You are powerless now!"

Rufus growls in anger. "No matter! I don't need l'Sith power! I'll finish you off with my own power. Starting with his little brat!" Rufus summons blades. He's about to impale Hope until Violet jumps on him. Rufus staggers back as Violet punches and kicks him hard in his face. While the vampire attacks, Yang shot punches him in the stomach, dealing little damage to his armor, but making strong staggerings.

Violet jumps off and Yang switches with Hamato. He strikes Rufus hard with his bostaff, mainly attacking the head where he's vulnerable. Rufus slashes Hamato. Hamato didn't suffer much since most of Rufus's strength is drained, of both Loa's Blessing enhance and the strength of the Dark Paladin role. Hamato still stands and jabs Rufus in the stomach with the staff.

Noel leaps over Hamato and strikes Rufus. After a quick recovery, Rufus attacks. Noel quickly shifts into Sentinel and defends himself with Steelguard. The moment his Steelguard ends, Noel shifts into Shaman and delivers several Aquastrikes, Galestrikes and Flamestrikes. Each attack causes Rufus to lose his balance. Suffer more damage.

Ruby does an angle charge, striking Rufus from the side. Her weapon does powerful slashes on his armor. For a finishing move, she plants the barrel right in his chest and shoots, causing Ruby to bolt right back due to the recoil.

Now it's Hope and Lightning's turn. Lightning faces him head on in her Commander Role while Hope cast his Thunder spells in Ravager. Rufus suffers intense pain from the lightning bolt raining down, mostly cause of his metal armor amplifying the electricity. Lightning shifts into Ravager and unleash her most powerful skill, Army of One. Several strikes and shoots from both of her weapons and the finish move launches Rufus in the air.

Now it's my turn to finish him off.

I run, Lightning gets on her knees and I step on her back and shoulders for a boost to jump high. I soar towards Rufus, both of my blades at hands. Rufus can see me coming and we both fight in midair. I strike fast, even faster then Rufus. Rufus is fast, but he's mainly a lot faster with the speed of Loa's Blessing.

My attacks make it through and Rufus gets hurt. In the end, Rufus and I are back to back, my blades at his throat, the blades turned against it. With a roar, we fall fast and hard. Once we are close to the ground, I flip rufus right over him, face planting him in the ground so hard it breaks apart.

The soldiers and enemies in the battlefield are in shock from the loud impact. They all look to see that it's Rufus and I. To the abduction Agency's fears, Rufus is defeated.

I stand firmly in place, looking down at my greatest enemy. He just lies there, barely conscious. He speaks his final words.

"This...isn't the end...It will never be...over." Rufus gasps in between sentences. "Our God...will be resurrected...They will...make sure...of..." He falls into unconsciousness.

I have no idea what Rufus is talking about, probably a l'Sith thing, but it doesn't matter. "No. This is the end! The Abduction Agency is no more! You have all lost, Rufus Zero!"

* * *

ORPHAN loads everyone and everything onto the ships.

After Rufus's defeat, the Abduction Agency surrendered. Few still fought, many tried to flee. For those fleeing, most were captured and a couple manage to get away. I'm not worried about those animals. They're only lesser beings of the organization. Chances of the Abduction Agency being restored by any of them is most likely to...never happen.

The last of the members of the Abduction Agency are being escorted into the ships. Most of the airships have already taken off and are heading back to Grand Pulse. Chantal and Sky are just loading their packages on the airplane we're taking. Lightning and I are standing by as Amodar and few soldiers load a large, steel and iron cage.

There is where Rufus Zero is being imprisoned.

"Make sure to put this one in solitary maximum security. He's dangerous." I warn Amodar.

"Don't worry, we've been after him for years. We know just what to do with him." Amodar says.

Once Amodar and Rufus are in the airship, the hanger door closes and it takes off. "I'm surprised how well you handled this mission. I'm impressed." Lightning says.

"I may be a Lieutenant, but I've been living six years as a Mercenary. You learn many things." I say.

"You're not getting a promotion...Now let's get out of here. I just want to get out of his stupid disguise." Lightning says.

Lightning makes her way to the airplane. Now it's just me, Chantal, Sky and team Burn. "I can't thank you enough Yang for helping us out here. As for your sister and the rest of team Burn."

"It's the least we can do." Yang says.

"Do you really have to go?" Ruby asks, a little sad.

"You're gonna miss that weapon of his, aren't you?" Violet asks.

"Wh-what...No! Of course not!" Ruby says, defensively.

I give Ruby a doubtful look. Of course she's gonna miss the Bowblades. "I do. I have a job and a family to get back to. But I hope we see each other again." I hold a fist out and Yang bumps it. "You know, I knew a few underground business men back on Grand Pulse who are looking for job hunters. How about next time, you guys come to visit Grand Pulse." I turn my eyes to Violet. "Well...maybe not all of you..." Violet glares at me hearing that.

"We'll be looking forward to it." Yang says, even everyone else agrees.

After saying our final good byes with team Burn, we get on the airplane. The engines turn on and the airplane takes off. Lightning is getting changed, getting out of that silly disguise and back into her regular soldier armor.

"I trust you two had a fun time." I ask Chantal and Sky.

"Other then that whole being attacked by a criminal organization, we had a wonderful time." Chantal says.

"It was certainly an interesting experience." Sky wraps an arm around Chantal, shocking the girl. "I couldn't ask to be here with anyone else." While his arm is around her, Chantal is blushing like mad and breathing heavily.

I can think of one: His girlfriend Katryx. "Well, glad everything worked out."

After our talk, I go into the back room. I need some alone time to think. l'Sith. Bhunivelze. Rufus's words. I know who Bhunivelze is. Once a grand Fal'Cie, but became a traitor hundreds of years ago. But how could he be apart of this? And what does Rufus mean that "Their God" will be resurrected?

Once we get back on Grand Pulse, I have a lot of questions to ask Yeul. But for now, we celebrate. The Abduction Agency has fallen for good.

This war is finally over.

* * *

Yeul meditates in her room back on Grand Pulse. Recently, she's been getting strange visions. Dark visions. Something she had never thought she would see in her power as the Seeress.

What's even more, she can feel dark energy in this world. She meditates to focus her mind and power. Soon, she can feel where the source of that dark energy is coming from:

Paris France.

"Bhunivelze..." Yeul opens her eyes and looks up. "Even in death...would you still go this far."


End file.
